Ataturk Trial Against Journalist Calislar

Calislar will be tried with 4,5 years of prison sentence based on a claim that she had insulted Ataturk by quoting a story where he avoids his opponents by putting on a scarf and fleeing the house by pretending being a woman.

The claim is based on a law "to protect Ataturk" which came into effect 55 years ago.

Several other journalists and writers were tried with opposing this law no 5816, among them Ragıp Zarakolu, Oral Calislar and Mehmet Terzi.

First hearing in the court is scheduled to October 5th.

The story

Calislar's book on Ataturk's partner Latife got published this summer and became very popular.

At one point in the book, Calislar quotes a historically known story from Vecihe Hanim:

When Topal Osman surrounds Mustafa Kemal's house in Cankaya to murder him, Latife Hamim takes his place to trick Osman while Ataturk flees the house.

Latife wears his hat and stands in front of the window, mimicking his silhouette and Mustafa Kemal dresses in a black scarf and leaves to house pretending being a woman.

Calislar: "Historical fact"

The trial is opened following an individual complaint.

"I'm saddened by this trial. This story is quoted in several sources as it is. Historians can argue about it but I don't see anything that bothers the justice system" Calislar commented.

"This trial is an unlucky incident regarding the democratization process in Turkey", she added.

Against the ECHR

"Prosecutors are giving way to the rising nationalism in the society by taking these individual complaints seriously. This is not lawful too" said lawyer Ercan Kanar, previous head of the Human Rights Association's Istanbul branch.

He remarked that the law itself is against the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.(EÖ/EÜ)