04 07 2007 - Open Letter of Protest - Apri e aderisci contro art 301

http://protest.keghart.com
Dear evrybody
Arat Dink, Serkis Seropyan, Karin Karakashli, Aydin Engin, all members of the staff of "Agos" weekly in Istanbul, and Erdal Dogal, the Dink family lawyer, are charged with "denigrating Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Some of them may face three years of jail time if convicted. The pretext is the Publication of an old interview with the Reuters News Agency in which the late assassinated Hrant Dink had referred to the Genocide of the Armenians.

Renowned writers, scholars and journalists such as Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak, Taner Akçam, Ragip Zarakolu and others were charged with similar criminal offences over the last while. Some of them have chosen self-exile and are now living in Europe, the United States and elsewhere for fear of their own lives and avoiding the destiny that the late Hrant Dink faced.

Please visit http://protest.keghart.com to voice your opinion by endorsing an open letter of protest. This letter will be delivered to International PEN at http://www.internationalpen.org.uk. Whether the letter will have any impact on the outcome of the trials is unknown, however, it will be yet another document in the annals of Human Rights abuses in Turkey. As such it could help bring
attention to the plight of Turkish Scholars, Human Rights activist, writers, journalists and people at large to end a Draconian rule that prevents Turkey to explore its own past history without fear of persecution. Furthermore, it may highlight the timeliness of the application that Taner Akçam filed before the European Court of Human Rights on the 20th of June 2007.

Your endorsement, dear friend, is solicited, because on previous occasions you have supported similar initiatives. The website http://protest.keghart.com is privately owned, free of advertisements and is not supported by any organization or third party whether financially or otherwise. Your privacy is valued; other than your name and location no other personal information will be displayed anywhere and will not be displayed anywhere and will not be used without your permission. Sincerely,Dikran Abrahamian BA MD

V.V