LISNews: Librarian News

Kathleen writes "It is not every day that a world-class writer ends up in court, still less so on charges of insulting his country. That is the deplorable fate of Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish author of acclaimed novels such as Snow, Istanbul and My Name is Red reports The Guardian.

The New York Times notes: "International scholars have widely agreed that more than a million Armenians were killed in the genocide. But the topic is still off-limits in Turkey, and the government still denies that the killings were part of a genocidal campaign. Mr. Pamuk's comments provoked outrage in the country, and he was charged under Article 301 of the revised penal code, which criminalizes criticism of "Turkishness," of state institutions and of the revered founder of the republic, Ataturk.""