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EU enlargement chief Olli Rehn hailed Monday a Turkish decision to drop charges against prominent author Orhan Pamuk, but pressed Ankara over similar cases and urged the country to review its law.
"This is obviously good news for Mr Pamuk, but it's also good news for freedom of expression in Turkey," Rehn said in a statement.
Pamuk had been charged with insulting the Turkish nation in remarks on the mass killings of Armenians during World War One.
The case has attracted huge international attention and cast a pall on Turkey's commitment to free speech at a time when the EU is closely monitoring the membership candidate's adherence to democratic values.
Rehn said he hoped the developments in Pamuk's case would help ease the plight of other writers and intellectuals being persecuted in Turkey.
"Several journalists, editors, writers and academics still face similar charges today," he said.
"I hope therefore that the decision on Orhan Pamuk's case will pave the way for a positive outcome for them as well, so that freedom of expression for all Turkish citizens is fully respected."
And he warned: "It is clear for me that Turkey needs to fill properly the loopholes of the current Penal Code, which leave too much room for abusive and restrictive interpretations limiting freedom of expression."
Pamuk, 53, risked six months to three years in jail for "denigrating the Turkish national identity" in remarks published in a Swiss magazine concerning the Armenian massacres of 1915-17.
"One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares talk about it," Pamuk told Das Magazin in February.
Turkey categorically denies Armenian accusations that up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in a genocide orchestrated by the Ottoman Empire in the last years of its existence.
Pamuk, Turkey's best-selling writer, is the author of internationally renowned works such as "My Name is Red" and "Snow" and winner of a number of literary awards.
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AFP 231231 GMT 01 06
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