International Reaction to Agos Sentence

Article 19, a Global Campaign for Free Expression, is very concerned at the sentencing of Arat Dink (editor of the Turkish–Armenian newspaper Agos and son of the murdered journalist Hrant Dink) and Serkis Seropyan (owner of Agos).

Both have received one-year suspended prison sentences for ‘denigrating Turkishness’ under Article 301 of the Penal Code for publishing the words of Hrant Dink. 

Trial initially included Hrant Dink

In September 2006, the prosecution opened a case against Hrant Dink, Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan following a complaint by Recep Akku, a member of the right-wing nationalist Great Lawyers’ Union.

The complaint was about an interview that Hrant Dink had given to the Reuters news agency on 14 July 2006, in which he called the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Turkey a ‘genocide’ and added: ‘We see that the people who lived on this soil for 4,000 years disappeared after those events.’ Agos had reproduced the interview on 21 July 2006 in an article entitled ‘A vote against 301’.

The case against Hrant Dink was dropped after his assassination on 19 January 2007, but continued against the other two accused. 

Turkey ignoring international conventions 

Turkey has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights, Articles 19 and 10 of which, respectively, protect the right to freedom of expression. However, Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code prohibits the public denigration of ‘Turkishness’ – a term that is extremely vague and provides an opportunity for the arbitrary criminalization of criticism. It is also used to repress opinions which diverge from the government’s view regarding the history of the country.

Such practice runs against the right to freedom of expression. We are also extremely concerned that the sentencing under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for ‘denigrating Turkishness’ creates potential targets for ultra-nationalist and extremist groups. 

Trials incite nationalist violence

Several academics, writers and journalists continue to receive death treats from such groups for expressing their views on controversial topics, while perpetrators remain largely unchallenged.

Hrant Dink received a suspended six months sentence under Article 301 in October 2005, and was receiving threats until his murder in January 2006. Others charged under Article 301 and threatened by ultra-nationalists include writer and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature, Orhan Pamuk, novelist Elif Shafak, poet and writer Perihan Magden, and historian Taner Akcam. 

Worries for safety of Agos journalists

The conviction of Arat Dink and Serkis Seropyan, two ethnic Armenians, comes at a time when anti-Armenian sentiments are running high in Turkey, shortly after the Turkish government strongly protested a US House of Representative’s bill that calls the 1915 massacres of Armenians ‘genocide’. In this atmosphere, the conviction may well put the two convicted at risk.

Article 19 calls upon the Turkish authorities to repeal Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. (IFEX/Article 19/AG)