PEN Turkey: Don’t put Orhan Pamuk on trial by inventing nonexistent crimes

* Photo: Nadire Mater

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PEN Turkey Center has released a statement about the investigation launched against Nobel-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, who is now investigated again over his novel "Nights of Plague" (Veba Geceleri).

After a criminal judgeship of peace has accepted the appeal against his non-prosecution, the prosecutor's office has launched a second investigation against Pamuk on the grounds that he allegedly "insulted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, and the flag of Turkey, thereby provoking the public to hatred and hostility."

Releasing a statement titled "Don't make Atatürk sad" on the 83rd anniversary of his death yesterday (November 10), PEN Turkey said:

In the 83rd year of Veteran Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's passing as the founder of our Republic, with his absence felt more deeply with each passing day, the pioneer of modernity and enlightenment and a great revolutionary, don't put Orhan Pamuk, our only Nobel-winning writer and esteemed novelist who has dearly contributed to Turkish and Turkish literature being world-renowned, on trial by inventing nonexistent crimes. Don't make Atatürk, who left us a free country and showed us the way for free and critical thought, sad!

What happened?

The Criminal Judgeship of Peace has accepted the appeal against the decision of non-prosecution given for a criminal complaint against Orhan Pamuk, a Nobel laureate in literature, over his novel "Nights of Plague" (Veba Geceleri). With the appeal accepted by the judgeship, the prosecutor's office has once again launched an investigation against the novelist.

As reported by T24 news website, Tarcan Ülük, a lawyer from the İzmir Bar Association, applied to the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and alleged that Orhan Pamuk, in his book "Nights of Plague", insulted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, and the flag of Turkey, thereby provoking the public to hatred and hostility.

Ülük also cited Orhan Pamuk's remarks to a newspaper from Switzerland in the period when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

While the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation, the file was sent to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office as the publishing house of the book is located in İstanbul.

In his statement at the prosecutor's office, Pamuk said that "he did not write texts implying Veteran Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in his book." Sharing details about the book's content, Pamuk did not accept the charges.

Accordingly, the prosecutor's office concluded that there was no direct insult at Atatürk in the book and the character in the book is described as a person loved by people. The file ended in non-prosecution.

Lawyer Ülük appealed against this decision.

Examining the appeal, the Criminal Judgeship of Peace on Duty has said that there are some remarks in some parts of the book that can be characterized as insulting and that Orhan Pamuk should be put on trial as part of the file in its current form. The judgeship has accepted Ülük's appeal. (KÖ/SD)