Writer Demirer awaiting Court’s 301 Decision

Following Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin’s decision to allow the trial of writer Temel Demirer under the notorious Article 301, the 2nd Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance is awaiting whether the Ankara 4th Administrative Court will cancel this permission.

Up to two years imprisonment

Demirer is accused of “denigrating the state of the Turkish Republic” and faces up to two years imprisonment.

The administrative court may take until 29 May to make a decision. The writer’s lawyers, Filiz Kalaycı and Levent Kanat appealed for a cancellation of permission for trial on 10 November 2008 to the administrative court. When this court rejected the appeal for stopping the trial, the lawyers then appealed to the regional administrative court. The Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance has been awaiting a decision of this second administrative court since 14 November 2008.

"A positive sign"

Kalaycı told bianet that it was a positive sign, both for this and future 301 cases, that the criminal court was awaiting the decision of the administrative court. “If this becomes normal for all 301 cases, then we believe that fair trials are at least partially taking place.”

Kanat said that they had demanded a copy of the report on the murder of Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist, compiled by the Prime Ministerial Investigation Committee. The criminal court has indicated that it will await the decree of the administrative court before evaluating any further demands, but has allowed the defence to obtain a copy by themselves.

Call on intellectuals to commit "301 crimes under Article 301"

Demirer had said, “Hrant Dink was not killed for being Armenian, but for recognising the genocide [of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915].”

Public Prosecutor Levent Savaş wrote an indictment on 24 December 2007, including police reports, transcripts of recordings prepared by the police, and CDs. Demirer spoke at a meeting in protest at Dink’s murder and is said to have said:

“(…) We are living in a country that conspires to kill those who shout out the truth. Hrant was not only murdered because he was Armenian, but because he told the truth about the genocide that happened in this country. If Turkish intellectuals do not commit 301 crimes under Article 301, they will also have murderered Hrant. We have a genocide in our history, an Armenian genocide. Hrant told us all the truth about this and paid for it with his life. Those who do not commit crimes against this murderous state are also murderers. Those who killed the Armenians in the past, are now attacking our Kurdish brothers. Those who want brotherhood of peoples need to face history. We must commit offences so that what happened to our Armenian brothers and sisters does not happen to our Kurdish brothers and sisters. I call on all of you to commit offences. Yes, there was an Armenian genocide in this country.” (EÖ/AG)