Turkish Cabinet discusses novelist 'insults' case

Turkey’s Cabinet was today discussing whether to drop charges against novelist Orhan Pamuk – a case the European Union has criticised as a threat to freedom of expression.

Pamuk was charged under a law which makes insulting Turkey a crime after a Swiss newspaper in February quoted him as saying: “30,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it.”

The Justice Ministry – which has the final say in whether to proceed with a trial – said it would invite discussion of the case during the weekly Cabinet meeting.

European officials have demanded Turkey drop the case against Pamuk and do more to protect freedom of expression.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul acknowledged the case had tarnished the country’s image abroad, and said that laws limiting freedom of expression may be changed.

The trial was halted by a judge on December 16, the day it began.

Pamuk’s remarks referred to two of the most painful episodes in recent Turkish history: the massacre of Armenians during the First World War, which Turkey insists was not a planned genocide, and recent guerrilla fighting in Turkey’s overwhelmingly Kurdish south-east.

Many Turkish nationalists found Pamuk’s remarks especially upsetting because they were made to a foreign newspaper.