Americans Book Leads to Charge Against Turk

On five occasions in 1999 and twice in 2001, he faced criminal charges in Turkey for publishing historical and academic books that touched on the Kurds' struggle to maintain their identity, language and traditions.

Still, despite these precedents, Mr. Keskin, 32, did not expect trouble last January when he published a Turkish-language translation of "After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? My Encounters with Kurdistan" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997), by Jonathan C. Randal, a former Washington Post reporter with long experience in the Middle East who now lives in Paris.

"Randal's book is not focused on Turkey," Mr. Keskin said during a visit to Paris. "He is very critical of Kurdish organizations and he is not especially critical of the Turkish authorities. In fact, in a preface for the Turkish edition, he says that Turkey is where there is most hope for the Kurds."

Yet within days of its publication, Mr. Randal's book was banned in Turkey and Mr. Keskin was charged with spreading separatist propaganda by the State Security Court in Istanbul. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison or a $2,500 fine.

The accusation refers specifically to pages in Mr. Randal's book where the words "Turkish Kurdistan" appear. It concludes, "This book taken as a whole constitutes separatist propaganda by evoking a distinct Kurdish nation and a state of Kurdistan within the territory of the Republic of Turkey, by mentioning provinces and districts within the territory of the state of the Republic of Turkey, and by in a certain way drawing a map of Kurdistan."

In the past, publishers and writers have occasionally been jailed in Turkey on charges related to so-called Kurdish separatism. Several Turkish publishers are on trial for publishing books openly promoting the Kurdish cause. These cases have been cited by human rights groups in arguing that Turkey's application to join the European Union should not be accepted until the country guarantees freedom of expression.

The case against Mr. Keskin, however, has drawn particular attention abroad not only because it involves a book by an American author, but also because Mr. Keskin's publishing house, Avesta, has earned a reputation for seriousness.

Since Avesta was founded in 1996, it has published 130 books, some 50 in the Kurdish language, the rest in Turkish. These include many translations - of Kurdish literature from Iraq and Iran, of Arab literature and of classics from Western literature.

"Some publishers were very politicized, others purely commercial," Mr. Keskin recalled of his decision to found his own publishing house. "I wanted to place Avesta somewhere between the two. Also, there were few outlets for Kurdish literature. But we are not a political publisher. I have no links to any Kurdish political organization."

For the first hearing of the case against Mr. Keskin in April, Mr. Randal traveled to Istanbul and volunteered to testify on Mr. Keskin's behalf. The offer by Mr. Randal, who recently rejected a subpoena by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague to testify in the case of a former Serbian deputy prime minister charged with persecuting non-Serbs in Bosnia, was turned down by the court.

However, the court did agree to accept as evidence a friend of the court brief prepared by the London office of the American law firm Covington & Burling, which also acted as an adviser to Mr. Randal and The Washington Post in the case before the war crimes tribunal. The brief was signed by the World Press Freedom Committee, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Independent Journalism Foundation and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

"The Turkish government's prosecution of Abdullah Keskin plainly violates Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and is illegal," the brief said, noting that Turkey was a signatory to the convention. It said the book was "journalistic coverage of a newsworthy political topic, written by a career reporter, and published solely for commercial and educational purposes."

The brief continued, "The European Court for Human Rights has held repeatedly that simply describing, explaining or providing opinions on the Kurdish situation in southeastern Turkey cannot constitute a risk substantial enough to outweigh the rights of the publisher and the public to free expression."

Mr. Keskin, who is scheduled to appear before the State Security Court again on July 31, said it was difficult to predict the outcome. "It all depends on the political mood of the moment," he said.

"The same book three months earlier or three months later can produce a different outcome. Since the author has not been charged, it is hard to convict the publisher. I have no interest in provocation. My only aim is to inform the Turkish and Kurdish people to enable them to participate in a pluralistic debate."(AR/NM)

* The article was published by New York Times on July 21, 2002