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Turkish Nobel laureate says Erdogan’s insult charges aimed at silencing dissent

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Reuters
Reuters
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Pamuk who one of Turkey’s most prominent novelists and a professor of literature at Columbia University, has also urged that European leaders must take a tougher line on free speech.

The 64-year old laureate faced criminal charges in 2005 for ‘insulting Turkishness’ over his statements on the Armenian genocide and the death of Kurds. He was subsequently subject to a hate campaign and his books were burnt at nationalist rallies.

This forced him to flee the country but he returned to face the charges which were later dropped. Pamuk has subsequently stated his intent was to draw attention to freedom of speech issues.

Turkish prosecutors have opened more than 1,800 cases against people for insulting Erdogan since he became president in 2014, including journalists, cartoonists and teenagers. A German satirist is also facing prosecution after mocking him on German TV.

Speaking after a court hearing against Murat Belge, a fellow writer and academic who was charged with insulting Erdogan in a newspaper column, Pamuk said Europe needed to pay more attention to Turkey’s record on freedom of expression as it strikes deals on visa liberalization and migration.

“This has nothing to do with insulting the president. This is only about silencing political opposition. This is about intimidating people and scaring the country so nobody would criticize the government,” he told Reuters.

Erdogan has repeatedly said he is open to criticism and dissent but draws the line at insults, and that his lawyers will continue to bring cases against those who insult him. His aides deny suggestions the legal actions aim to silence opponents.

“Erdogan is quite determined to create a new society where there is no principle of the separation of powers,” said Belge, 73, outside the Istanbul courthouse. He denies the charges against him and his case was adjourned to Sept. 20.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, who was jailed in the 1980s for opposing Poland’s communist government, said last month Erdogan needed a thicker skin against criticism.

But Erdogan’s opponents in Turkey, as well as rights groups, have criticized Europe for striking a deal with Ankara promising accelerated EU accession negotiations and visa-free travel to Europe in return for help curbing a migrant crisis, while doing too little to challenge its deteriorating rights record.

“I hope the leaders of the EU when they are shaking hands with Turkish leaders … would also occasionally talk about free speech,” said Pamuk, who won the literature Nobel Prize in 2006.

Pamuk, whose work has been translated into about 60 languages and who remains among Turkey’s top-selling writers, has long championed free speech and freedom of the press.

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