Azat Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 A journalist in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting Turkish identity and given a suspended six-month jail sentence by a court in Istanbul. Hrant Dink, of Armenian-Turkish descent, wrote a newspaper column which he argued was aimed at improving relations between Turkey and Armenia. The prosecution interpreted one part as an insult, but Mr Dink has said he will appeal against the ruling. The verdict follows criminal code reforms as Turkey seeks to join the EU. The reforms were intended to improve freedom of speech in Turkey. The article written by Mr Dink addressed the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during Ottoman rule in 1917. Armenians, supported by several countries, want Turkey to recognise the events as a genocide. Turkey rejects that description, saying the deaths occurred in a civil war in which many Turks were also killed. Humiliation A paragraph in the article calling on Armenians to symbolically reject "the adulterated part of their Turkish blood" was taken as offensive. If I'm guilty of insulting a nation then it's a matter of honour not to live here Hrant Dink The judge ruled that Mr Dink's newspaper column implied that Turkish blood was dirty. He is the editor of a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper, Agos. The BBC's Sarah Rainsford said the judge ordered a suspended sentence as it was Mr Dink's first offence. But the nationalist lawyers who brought the case were disappointed. "There was an obvious humiliation and result of this case should be at least two and a half years or three years criminal charge," one said. "But I think that Turkish courts are under big pressure due to these European Union accession talks." 'No crime' Mr Dink's lawyer Fethiye Cetin said the ruling showed how little had changed under Turkey's new criminal code, despite international and internal pressure. "There was no crime here," she told the BBC. "We expected our client to get off." Our correspondent says human rights lawyers believe his case shows there are still no-go areas for discussion here and the new laws leave substantial room for interpretation. Mr Dink says he will appeal against the ruling. But if he cannot clear his name, he will leave the country. "If I'm guilty of insulting a nation," he told the BBC, "then it's a matter of honour not to live here." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4319370.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Azat, the translation of what he said is not really accurate, the text he wrote was more banal. It was about the claim that everyone in Turkey are Turks etc. I will try to find a better translation to show how ridiculous it was to sent him on court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Hrant was in Armenia in Spring and did take part in genocide confferance - this is the main "problem" "Mr Dink's newspaper column implied that Turkish blood was dirty" - it was my understanding that Diks was saying to Armenians to Cleanse from turkish elements - such in their last names & names - try to use ARmenian as much us they can - not to long after that - a turkish journalist approached him and asked - so wan you sing the Anthem of turkey do you sing ? I'm a turk ? - diks answer was NO - Never . .... in case some of you don;t know - in the turkish tribal anthem "i'm a turk " is mentioned many times.... and you need to sing it each day .. even befor teh clases start at your Armenian school you sing the anthem ... just imagine that 20~30 Armenian kids are singing i'm a turk each morning turks did tray to provoke him to do something "wrong" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpa Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Azat, the translation of what he said is not really accurate, the text he wrote was more banal. It was about the claim that everyone in Turkey are Turks etc. I will try to find a better translation to show how ridiculous it was to sent him on court. style_images/master/snapback.png Here is what he had said; http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hrant_Dink "I said that I was a Turkish citizen but an Armenian and that even though I was honest and hardworking, I was not a Turk, I was an Armenian," Dink explained. He said he also criticized a line in the Turkish national anthem that speaks of "my heroic race". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armjan Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 Turkey sentences Armenian writer A journalist in Turkey has been found guilty of insulting Turkish identity and given a suspended six-month jail sentence by a court in Istanbul. Hrant Dink, of Armenian-Turkish descent, wrote a newspaper column which he argued was aimed at improving relations between Turkey and Armenia. The prosecution interpreted one part as an insult, but Mr Dink has said he will appeal against the ruling. The verdict follows criminal code reforms as Turkey seeks to join the EU. The reforms were intended to improve freedom of speech in Turkey. The article written by Mr Dink addressed the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during Ottoman rule in 1917. Armenians, supported by several countries, want Turkey to recognise the events as a genocide. Turkey rejects that description, saying the deaths occurred in a civil war in which many Turks were also killed. Humiliation A paragraph in the article calling on Armenians to symbolically reject "the adulterated part of their Turkish blood" was taken as offensive. If I'm guilty of insulting a nation then it's a matter of honour not to live here Hrant Dink The judge ruled that Mr Dink's newspaper column implied that Turkish blood was dirty. He is the editor of a bilingual Armenian-Turkish newspaper, Agos. The BBC's Sarah Rainsford said the judge ordered a suspended sentence as it was Mr Dink's first offence. But the nationalist lawyers who brought the case were disappointed. "There was an obvious humiliation and result of this case should be at least two and a half years or three years criminal charge," one said. "But I think that Turkish courts are under big pressure due to these European Union accession talks." 'No crime' Mr Dink's lawyer Fethiye Cetin said the ruling showed how little had changed under Turkey's new criminal code, despite international and internal pressure. "There was no crime here," she told the BBC. "We expected our client to get off." Our correspondent says human rights lawyers believe his case shows there are still no-go areas for discussion here and the new laws leave substantial room for interpretation. Mr Dink says he will appeal against the ruling. But if he cannot clear his name, he will leave the country. "If I'm guilty of insulting a nation," he told the BBC, "then it's a matter of honour not to live here." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takoush Posted October 8, 2005 Report Share Posted October 8, 2005 (edited) Here is what he had said; http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hrant_Dink "I said that I was a Turkish citizen but an Armenian and that even though I was honest and hardworking, I was not a Turk, I was an Armenian," Dink explained. He said he also criticized a line in the Turkish national anthem that speaks of "my heroic race". style_images/master/snapback.png What they said is rubbish. Hrant Dink didn't say anything he should'nt? See his lawyer said ''despite EU pressures from Europe VERY LITTLE CHANGED in the Turkish judicial laws". I really don't expect much better from turks. Edited October 8, 2005 by Anahid Takouhi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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