Turkish writer cleared of insult

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Turkish author Ipek Calislar has been acquitted of insulting modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Prosecutors said Ms Calislar had insulted Ataturk when she said, in a biography of his wife Latife, that he had once fled disguised as a woman.

She faced up to four years in prison under Turkey's tough law against denigrating "Turkishness".

The European Union has pressed Turkey to reform the law, which it views as a bar on freedom of expression.

The law has led to court cases against dozens of writers and journalists, including acclaimed novelists Orhan Pamuk - this year's Nobel laureate for literature - and Elif Shafak.

Both were also acquitted.

Excerpts from Ipek Calislar's book, called Latife Hanim, were published in the mass-circulation daily Hurriyet.