Monday, September 25, 2006

Elif update

Remember the post I did re Elif Sharak?

I'm relieved to report she was acquitted last week! From her hospital bed (she had just given birth) she spoke of her relief on a personal level but continuing concerns re how the law on 'insulting Turkishness' could impact on other authors.

It seems there could be moves afoot to change this outrageous law. Meanwhile Elif's acquittal has infuriated nationalists ...

6 comments:

Unknown said...

The freedom of speech debate seems like it will be with us forever. It's always a fine line and always based entirely upon perception - and perception we know is neither truth nor fact.
I'm glad she was acquitted but I suspect in many ways this is just the beginning.

Anonymous said...

Yes, that was good news Debi! But I remain sad that a country could put a woman through that stress when pregnant.

The Wandering Author said...

I'm glad she was acquitted, and hope the law is changed. It still disgusts me that it was ever passed in the first place. If I were Turkish, I would find that law more "insulting" to my "Turkishness" than anything else could be.

All nations have nasty secrets, and all nations are healthier when such secrets are openly discussed. I do fear that Atyllah is right however, and this may just be the beginning.

Debi said...

You're right - there IS a debate round freedom of speech - I don't think it's as b&w as we sometimes think ... For example, I don't think the right to freedom of speech should be used to curtail the rights of others - eg extreme porn, racism, homophobia ...

On the other hand, I don't think it should be up to the legislators to deal with it necessarily ...

This is BIG ...

Debi said...

BTW, welcome Wandering Author and thanks for commenting. I can find your profile but no posts - is there something I'm missing?

The Wandering Author said...

Debi; if you want to check out my blog, just scroll down to the bottom of the profile. There's a link to my blog there. That's just how Blogger works when you post a comment using a Blogger identity. If there's a way to change it, I don't know about it. Of course, I'm the Wandering Author, not the Wandering Code Wizard, so that's not the last word on the subject...