Court Case Launched Against Elif Shafak

Charges have been pressed against renown Turkish novelist Elif Shafak who will stand trial at an Istanbul court later this year accused with "insulting Turkishness" in her new bestseller "Father and Bastard". Shafak faces up to three years imprisonment if found guilty under article 301 of the Criminal Code.

The first hearing of the case has been listed for September 21 at the Istanbul Beyoglu 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance.

Last week's charges come after Istanbul's 7th High Criminal Court rejected a June 7 decision by the Beyoglu Republic Prosecutor not to prosecute Elif Shafak, Metis Publishing House chief Semih Sokmen and translator Asli Bican for "publicly humiliating the Turkish identity" asking instead, for charges to be brought forth.

The decision overturning last month's dismissal of proceedings was result of an appeal made by lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, a leading member of the right-wing organization of lawyers who call themselves "The Unity of Jurists".

Beyoglu Republic Prosecutor Mustafa Erol, in his decision of no jurisdiction, had said "no evidence was found in the book to prove that the intention was to humiliate the Turkish identity, or to require a criminal proceeding. "There is no criticism in the book," said the Prosecutor.

Kerincsiz had initially filed the criminal complaint for which the book was investigated and later appealed against the prosecution's decision when it was favorable to the defendant. He and his group are renown for their intervention in high-profile cases in Turkey involving freedom of expression launched against leading authors, journalists and intellectuals.

"Father and Bastard" which was published on 8 March this year is already on the best seller list and the book is sold in Turkey. Originally written in English, the book is in the publishing schedule of Viking/Penguin publishing house.

Elif Safak, a Turkish citizen, was born in France and spent her childhood in Spain. After studying political science in Turkey, she held teaching positions in the United Kingdom, Turkey, and the United States and then took the position of Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Near Eastern Studies at University of Arizona.

Her publications include both novels and essays, among them The Saint of Incipient Insanities, which was her first book published in English, Bit Palas, Mahrem, which won the Turkish Writers' Association Best Novel of the Year Award, and Sehrin Aynalari. She has also published reviews in The Economist, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe, and The Washington Post.

(EO/TK/II/YE)