The Campaign Against Article 301

Speaking of censorship: Reader Elizabeth Angell sends word that there is now “an organized campaign in Turkey” to remove article 301 from the penal code. Article 301, you’ll remember, was the little law that makes it illegal to “insult Turkishness,” and which made it possible for a zealous prosecutor to bring charges against novelist Orhan Pamuk last year. Pamuk’s only “crime” was to talk about the genocide of Armenians in 1916. While the charges against Pamuk have now been dropped, other writers still stand accused under the same law. A repeal of article 301 would be a major win for freedom of expression in the Turkish republic. Here is the website of the campaign: 301 Hayir (in Turkish only.)

Related: Orhan Pamuk Goes On Trial.