Turkish writer faces prison
Orhan Pamuk is one of Turkeys most famous and well regarded authors, whose works have been published internationally in over twenty languages. Mr Pamuk, however is now facing a potential prison sentence of up to three years, following comments he made to a Swiss newspaper about political situations in Turkey, which are alleged to have insulted Turkey. He is being charged under and article in the Turkish Penal Code, a problematic document which, despite recent revisions, has still attracted protests and statements to the U.N. commission on human rights. International PEN, a writers advocacy group dedicated to freedom of press and unhampered transmission of thought within and between nations, have stated that Mr Pamuk is not the only victim of this harsh piece of legislation, saying that there are at least 50 other writers + journalists facing prison sentences over written statements and comments they have made. Ella O’Keefe spoke to Katherine Thomson, president of the Sydney branch of PEN about Mr Pamuk’s situation.