Turkish court acquits journalist in banned book case

Nadire Mater, a Turkish journalist and author of the banned book "Mehmet's Book," was acquitted Friday of charges she insulted the military in her book

In this story: Hitting a raw nerve 'A step forward for freedom of expression' RELATED STORIES, SITES

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- A court on Friday acquitted a Turkish journalist charged with insulting the military in her banned book on the Kurdish rebel war.

The case was seen as a test of Turkey's intentions to improve its poor human rights record. Representatives of international human rights organizations hailed the verdict as a step forward.

"This is a good day for Turkey's journalists, a good day for Turkey," said Kati Marton of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, who attended the court session Friday. "It is a step toward Turkey's democratization that is long overdue."

Nadire Mater faced up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Unless the prosecutor appeals the verdict, the ban on "Mehmet's Book," which recounts the horrors and frustrations of recruits fighting Kurdish rebels, will be lifted in seven days.

After the verdict, Mater urged Turkish authorities to repeal laws curbing the freedom of expression.

"This does not solve Turkey's problem regarding freedom of expression because the laws still exist," Mater said of her acquittal.

Her publisher was also acquitted.

Turkey is trying to join the European Union and it has pledged to abolish numerous laws used to jail journalists and activists. James Ron of Human Rights Watch said the judge had chosen to "uphold Turkey's international commitment."

"Mehmet's Book" hit a raw nerve because it was a rare case of soldiers publicly criticizing the war. Mehmet is a nickname for Turkish recruits.

Mater called the charges an attempt to silence the truth about Turkey's 16-year war against the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, which is fighting for autonomy in the southeast.

"I demand my acquittal for the right of people to be informed and for the freedom of expression," she had told the court.

Authorities restrict coverage of the war, which has killed 37,000 people. Dozens of journalists and intellectuals have been jailed for crimes such as calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Mater's case attracted many of Turkey's leading human rights and press freedom activists, including Akin Birdal, who was jailed for 10 months after giving a speech calling for an end to the war.

He said Mater's case "put freedom of thought and press on trial."

Amnesty International said in a statement that the verdict was "a step forward for freedom of expression," but that Mater shouldn't have been tried in the first place.

The organization also said it would continue to urge Turkey to lift restrictions on freedom of expression.

"Mehmet's War" was published in April 1999 and more than 14,000 copies were sold before it was banned and confiscated two months later. The publisher, Semih Sokmen, said he will issue a new edition if the ban is lifted.

Mater is the correspondent of the Inter Press Service and works with the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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