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BBC: Turkey turns down editor's appeal

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  • BBC: Turkey turns down editor's appeal

    Turkey turns down editor's appeal

    BBC
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4963 586.stm
    Last Updated: Monday, 1 May 2006, 22:10 GMT 23:10 UK

    A Turkish court has rejected an appeal by a prominent journalist
    against a ruling that found him guilty of insulting Turkishness.

    Hrant Dink, an Armenian living in Turkey, was given a six-month
    suspended sentence last October.

    He had written a newspaper article which addressed the mass killings
    of Ottoman Armenians nine decades ago.

    This case is one of several monitored closely by EU officials concerned
    about limits on free speech in Turkey.

    In February, the chief prosecutor's office at the Appeals Court
    considered Mr Dink's case and recommended that the remarks were in
    no way insulting.

    But now, in a surprise development, the court itself has chosen to
    ignore that interpretation and ruled that the substance of the charge
    still stands.

    'Extremely distressed'

    It is a blow for the defence team.

    The high-profile newspaper editor, whose publication Agos appears in
    Turkish and Armenian, was first found guilty of insulting Turkishness
    last year when a court ruled that one of his articles described
    Turkish blood as dirty.

    Hrant Dink always denied his words meant any such thing and argued
    his column was in fact aimed at improving the difficult relationship
    between Turks and Armenians.

    The case will now go back to the local court that first heard it,
    and Mr Dink could face a retrial.

    He told the BBC he was extremely distressed at the news.

    He has always said he would have to leave the country if the courts
    here could not clear his name for good.

    European Union officials have expressed serious concern about the
    article of law that was used against Hrant Dink and several dozen
    other writers here in Turkey.

    Despite a series of reforms linked to Turkey's bid for membership
    of the EU, it is still illegal to insult the Turkish identity, the
    military and the judiciary and the line between criticism and insult
    is often blurred.

    The controversial issue of the fate of the Ottoman Armenians is
    frequently the spark for court cases.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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