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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Top novelist acquitted in Turkey | Top novelist acquitted in Turkey |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A court in Istanbul has acquitted the best-selling Turkish novelist, Elif Shafak, who had been accused of insulting "Turkishness". | A court in Istanbul has acquitted the best-selling Turkish novelist, Elif Shafak, who had been accused of insulting "Turkishness". |
| Ms Shafak, 35, had faced charges for comments made by her characters on the mass killings of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. | Ms Shafak, 35, had faced charges for comments made by her characters on the mass killings of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. |
| Turkey rejects Armenia's claim that the killings constituted "genocide". | Turkey rejects Armenia's claim that the killings constituted "genocide". |
| The EU welcomed the court ruling, but urged Turkey to abolish a law that makes it a crime to insult Turkishness. | |
| The trial was seen by the EU as a test of freedom of expression in Turkey, which began membership talks with the 25-member bloc last October. | The trial was seen by the EU as a test of freedom of expression in Turkey, which began membership talks with the 25-member bloc last October. |
| Scuffles | Scuffles |
| The proceedings lasted just 40 minutes and ended in utter chaos, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports. | The proceedings lasted just 40 minutes and ended in utter chaos, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports. |
| Turkish nationalists demanded a punishment for Ms Shafak | |
| The judges said they based their decision on lack of evidence to prove that Ms Shafak "denigrated the Turkish national identity" in her novel, The Bastard of Istanbul. | The judges said they based their decision on lack of evidence to prove that Ms Shafak "denigrated the Turkish national identity" in her novel, The Bastard of Istanbul. |
| Ms Shafak - who has recently given birth to her first child - was not present at the hearing. | Ms Shafak - who has recently given birth to her first child - was not present at the hearing. |
| Ms Shafak - who had faced up to three years in jail if convicted - said by telephone that she was extremely relieved that her trial was over. | |
| But she expressed concerns that there would be other similar cases in the future as long as the controversial Article 301 of Turkey's penal code "is out there". | |
| If Article 301 will be interpreted in this way nobody can write novels in Turkey anymore, no-one can make movies any more Elif Shafak | |
| The nationalist lawyers who brought the case walked out in anger shortly after the trial opened. | |
| They claimed the court and judges had been unduly influenced by the EU. | They claimed the court and judges had been unduly influenced by the EU. |
| Riot police moved in to stop scuffles between nationalists and leftists outside the courthouse. | Riot police moved in to stop scuffles between nationalists and leftists outside the courthouse. |
| 'Autonomy of art' | 'Autonomy of art' |
| One of the lawyers who filed the complaint against Ms Shafak had claimed that her novel was Armenian propaganda, dripping with hatred for the Turks. | One of the lawyers who filed the complaint against Ms Shafak had claimed that her novel was Armenian propaganda, dripping with hatred for the Turks. |
| One of the novel's characters speaks of "Turkish butchers" and a "genocide", while others talk about being "slaughtered like sheep". | One of the novel's characters speaks of "Turkish butchers" and a "genocide", while others talk about being "slaughtered like sheep". |
| Ms Shafak was the latest in a long line of writers to face similar charges in Turkey. But this was the first time Article 301 had been used against a work of fiction. | Ms Shafak was the latest in a long line of writers to face similar charges in Turkey. But this was the first time Article 301 had been used against a work of fiction. |
| "If Article 301 will be interpreted in this way nobody can write novels in Turkey anymore, no-one can make movies any more," Ms Shafak told the BBC before the trial. | "If Article 301 will be interpreted in this way nobody can write novels in Turkey anymore, no-one can make movies any more," Ms Shafak told the BBC before the trial. |
| "The words of a character could be used as evidence against the author or the film director. I think it is extremely important to defend the autonomy of art, and of literature," she said. | "The words of a character could be used as evidence against the author or the film director. I think it is extremely important to defend the autonomy of art, and of literature," she said. |