Author could face prison if convicted of 'insulting Turkishness'

ISTANBUL -- Turkish novelist Elif Shafak faces trial here Thursday on charges of "insulting Turkishness" through comments made by a fictional character in her latest novel, The Bastard of Istanbul.

Shafak, 34, who teaches Middle Eastern studies at the University of Arizona, splits her time between Tucson and Istanbul, where she is helping set up a master's program in American culture and literature at Bahcesehir University.

The charges against Shafak -- the latest of at least 60 cases involving authors and journalists here -- raise questions about Turkey's readiness to become a full member of the European Union, a move the United States supports as a way to bolster a secular, democratic Muslim state in a pivotal geographic and political position.

She could face up to three years in jail on charges she violated Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code by having an Armenian character in the book say that "Turkish butchers" killed her family and that the deaths were "genocide."

Shafak -- who delivered her first child, a girl, on Saturday -- wants to appear in court when the trial starts, her husband, Eyup Can, said Tuesday.

Can, who is editor of a Turkish business daily, said, "Most probably she won't be able to go, due to her condition." He said Shafak's lawyer will ask for a one-month postponement.

Turkey has been making efforts to change its criminal and justice systems to meet European standards to qualify for full EU membership. That's the goal of negotiations that started last October and could take a decade.

The failure to remove restraints on freedom of speech has led to charges against writers including Shafak. Under the 2005 law, anyone who criticizes the state or denigrates Turkish identity in any form can be prosecuted.

Several writers have been convicted, though none has gone to jail. Instead, the courts have handed down fines. The maximum amount levied: $4,000.

National history

The charges against Shafak are based on events that, although they took place nearly a century ago, remain a sore spot for Turks and Armenians.

Official Turkish history says the mainly Orthodox Christian Armenians sided with Russia in an attempt to carve out a chunk of territory from the crumbling Ottoman Empire. History books here say many Muslims were killed in the fighting and the Armenians paid the price for their losing bid.

It is a criminal act in Turkey to back the view that forced marches to the Syrian border that killed up to 1 million Armenians should be considered genocide.

Other taboo topics include the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority and Turkey's justification for invading the now-divided island nation of Cyprus in 1974.

Many Turks support Article 301 because they fear dredging up the past will hurt Turkey's aspirations to join the EU. "Talking about Turks killing people will give people in Europe and America the wrong idea, for it started with the Armenian attacks," says Banu Aktac, 43, a tour guide in Istanbul.

International PEN, a London-based group that promotes free speech, says Article 301 fails to meet international standards that protect freedom of expression such as the European Convention on Human Rights, which Turkey has signed.

"The trial against Elif Shafak is another sign that the situation in Turkey has become stricter," says Eugene Schoulgin, a PEN board member who is in Istanbul to attend the trial. "It's basically a crackdown on writers and journalists and is a result of the country's paranoiac attitude toward honor."

Author's themes

The Bastard of Istanbul tells the story of two women connected by a family secret. In the novel, a woman whose Armenian grandmother was raised by a Turkish Muslim family after being orphaned says, "I am the grandchild of genocide survivors who lost all their relatives in the hands of Turkish butchers in 1915."

The themes of The Bastard of Istanbul -- how memories differ from person to person -- evolved from the author's previous work exploring mysticism, religion and nostalgia, among other subjects.

Born in Strasbourg and raised in France, Spain, Jordan and Turkey by a single mother who was a Turkish diplomat, Shafak began as a child to question her nationality and what it means to be a woman. "Only through my novels can I continue to explore the boundaries of identity," she says.

Shafak wrote The Bastard of Istanbul in English. She then wrote a translated version for the Turkish market. The novel was published here in March and has sold more than 60,000 copies. The English-language version will be out early next year.

University of Arizona officials sent letters to Turkey's foreign minister and to the Turkish ambassador in Washington to protest Shafak's prosecution, says Anne Betteridge, director of the school's Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Betteridge was not aware of any response.

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has been closely following Shafak's case and others that involve free speech. "We have raised concerns about freedom of expression issues with Turkish authorities," embassy spokeswoman Kathryn Schalow says.

Among other writers who have been prosecuted under Article 301 is Hrant Dink. His six-month suspended sentence for "insulting Turkishness" in his newspaper, Agos, was upheld last month.

Shafak's case, dismissed by a lower court, was reinstated by another court in early July after Kemal Kerincsiz filed a complaint. The ultranationalist lawyer initiated many of the cases against writers who brought up the Armenian deportations through the 800-member Jurists Union, an independent, non-governmental organization he founded in 2002.

Kerincsiz says his campaign is a way to derail Turkey's negotiations to join the EU. He has called membership in the 25-nation bloc a form of slavery. He also dismisses writers' concerns about being put on trial. "What's the big deal with a trial? Orhan Pamuk became a prince," he says, referring to Turkey's leading writer, who also is on trial. "And now Elif will be a princess."

Shafak says hostility to EU membership is a troubling sign for relations with the West. "Anti-Turkish sentiment in Europe buttresses Turkish nationalism," she says, referring to European concerns about admitting the predominantly Muslim nation of 70 million to the EU. "I only fear a backlash because it gives foreigners the impression that Kemal Kerincsiz represents the majority, which I don't believe he does."

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