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ANKARA, Turkey, Jul 11, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The case against Turkish author Elif Shafak, who is charged with "insulting Turkishness" under Article 301 in the Turkish Criminal Code, was reopened.
Shafak wrote "The Bastard of Istanbul," in which a character references Armenian genocide, Thebookstandard.com reported Tuesday.
An Istanbul public prosecutor dismissed the charges last month, based on arguments that the book is a work of fiction and therefore cannot be prosecuted.
But a complaint from a member of the Unity of Jurists caused the seventh high criminal court to overrule the decision. Similar charges have also been brought against Shafak's translator Asli Bican and publisher Semi Soekmen, of the Metis Publishing House.
"The situation in Turkey has changed since the introduction of Article 301 last year," Director of the Writers in Prison Committee at International PEN Sara Whyatt, told Thebookstandard. "I think the trials are intended to harass and intimidate these writers and journalists. Elif Shafak is at the beginning of what could be a long and painful process."
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
