92 Year Old Women Researcher On Trial

Freedom of expression in Turkey goes on trial once again this week with charges being heard against a 92-year-old researcher and writer who is recognized internationally as the country's most leading Sumerologist with 13 books, numerous published papers and research work on the ancient Sumer and Hittite cultures.

Born in 1914 and having spent most of her life shedding light on past civilizations, cited as a great contributor to the creation of an archive on cuneiform script, Muazzez Ilmiye Cig is to face charges in Istanbul on November 1 for "inciting hatred and enmity among the people" in her most recent book published last year.

Together with her in the dock is publisher Ismet Ogutcu, of the Kaynak Publishing House which published "Vatandaslik Tepkilerim" (My Citizenship Reactions) now being prosecuted. If found guilty under articles 216 and 125 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), both defendants face nine months to up to a year imprisonment, in some cases up to 3 years jail, each.

Subject to the charges is Cig's claim that the traditional headdress called Turban and now an international item of dispute was used for the very first time in history by Sumer temple prostitutes during religious rites.

Article 125 of the TCK covers offences committed by "insulting values that are regarded as sacred by an individual's religion" while article 216, widely used to prosecute intellectuals and writers, governs the offence of "incitement to hatred and enmity as well as denigration".

Once Cig's book was published, a complaint was filed by Izmir Bar Association lawyer Yusuf Akin which rather than be dismissed, was addressed immediately by the Istanbul Beyoglu Public Prosecutor's Office under these articles.

Although her works and contributions to the study of the past are recognized internationally as much as by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and the Turkish History Institution (TTK), reaction to the upcoming case from Turkish authorities has been nil.

She herself has not yet made a statement on the charges.

Background: Muazzez İlmiye Cig

Cig is a researcher and writer born on June 20, 1914 in the western Turkish province of Bursa. She has also written under the pseudonym Muazzez Çığ.

She started her primary education in Çorum and completed it in Bursa (1925). She graduated from Bursa Teacher Training School for Women (1931) and Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Department of Sumerology (1940). She worked as a Sumerologist and cuneiform expert at the İstanbul Archeological Museum and retired in 1972.

Her articles have been published in many reviews and newspapers such as Belleten and Bilim ve Ütopya. She is an honorary member of German Archeology Institute and İstanbul University, Institute of Prehistoric Sciences.

Cig has published a number of books and scientific papers in her past. Her study and research includes: Kur'an, İncil ve Tevrat'ın Sümer'deki Kökeni (The Origins of the Koran, the Bible and the Torah in Babylon, 1995), Sümerli Ludingirra (Babylonian Ludingirra, a retrospective science-fiction, 1996), İbrahim Peygamber (The Prophet Abram, according to Babylonian writings and archeological finds, 1997), İnanma'nın Aşkı (The Love of İnanma, the Belief and the Holy Marriage in Babylon, 1998), Hititler ve Hattuşa (The Hittites and Hattuşa, written by İstar, 2000), Ortadoğu Uygarlık Mirası (Civilization Heritage in the Middle-East, 2002).

Her Children's Literature can be listed as: Zaman Tüneli ile Sümer'e Yolculuk (Time Tunnel and the Journey to Babylon, 1993). (II/YE)