Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended on Saturday author Orhan Pamuk's right to free speech, but rejected EU pressure on Ankara in the controversial trial of the internationally renowned novelist.
"My stance on freedom of thought is clear because I myself have become a victim in this context," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Anatolia news agency in the central city of Konya. "We are against anything restricting freedom of thought."
He said, however, that the EU, which sees Pamuk's trial as a test of Turkey's commitment to democracy and human rights, "is trying to put our judiciary under pressure," Anatolia reported.
"This is wrong," Erdogan said. "Either right or wrong, the case is now before the justice ... Let's see the outcome and then make comments."
Pamuk, Turkey's best-known writer and winner of many international awards, appeared before a court in Istanbul on Friday on charges of denigrating Turkish national identity for telling a Swiss magazine that "1 million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares talk about it."
The case was adjourned to February to await a decision by the justice ministry, whose authorization is needed to proceed with the trial.
European Parliament members attended the hearing and criticized the government for having failed to halt the trial, drawing Erdogan's anger.
"The coming of EU parliamentarians during the course of the trial is in fact pressure on the judiciary," he said. "They have no such right."
Erdogan has defended freedom of speech, citing his own conviction for "inciting religious hatred" by reciting a poem with Islamic messages during a political rally in 1997, which earned him a four-month stint in prison.
Turkey began EU membership talks on Oct. 4, but critics say the country has yet to fully embrace the bloc's democracy norms despite the far-reaching reforms it has already undertaken.
Brussels has warned Ankara the talks would be suspended in the case of persistent breaches of democracy and human rights.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called on the EU not to judge Turkey's record by a single case.
"Let's not be unfair towards Turkey," he told the Sabah daily. "There is no conviction [in the Pamuk case] yet. There is no one in jail in Turkey because of [exercising] freedom of expression."
Gul pledged more efforts to ensure that the reforms Turkey undertook to boost its EU bid are properly implemented on the ground.
"It's our duty to strengthen the reform process," he said. "The changes adopted so far are not cosmetic, but there is still more to be done."
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Civil society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition yesterday filed impeachment complaints against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, restarting a process sidelined by the Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The filings come on the same day that a committee in the House of Representatives was to begin hearings into impeachment complaints against Marcos, accused of corruption tied to a spiraling scandal over bogus flood control projects. Under the constitution, an impeachment by the
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
A Virginia man having an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair on Monday was found guilty of murdering his wife and another man that prosecutors say was lured to the house as a fall guy. Brendan Banfield, a former Internal Revenue Service law enforcement officer, told police he came across Joseph Ryan attacking his wife, Christine Banfield, with a knife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. He shot Ryan and then Juliana Magalhaes, the au pair, shot him, too, but officials argued in court that the story was too good to be true, telling jurors that Brendan Banfield set
RSS