The Izmir 8th Penal Court has announced its sentence of suspended 15-month imprisonment for Prof. Dr. Atilla Yayla for utterances he made at a conference entitled “Social Effects of Relations Between the European Union and Turkey.”
In his talk, Yayla is alleged to have spoken about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as “that man,” an allegation that was enough to initially suspend him from university and initiate a trial against him.
"Insulting the memory of Atatürk"
However, the court has said that the sentence is based on a different utterance, in which Yayla said that “Kemalism corresponds more to regression than progression.”
Citing Law No. 5816 on “the protection of Atatürk”, Yayla was found guilty in a trial in which, among others, the Izmir Bar Association and the Atatürk Foundation had joined the trial as complainants.
According to the court, a journalist from the Yeni Asir newspaper, Nuray Kaya, had asked Yayla: “Have I understood correctly, Kemalism corresponds more to regression than progression? Or did you miscommunicate this?” Yayla then answered, “Yes, you heard correctly…[…] In years to come people will ask us why we have statues and photos of that man everywhere, you cannot cover this up, in the end it will be discussed.”
Judge Niyazi Erdogan said in the justification of the sentence that Yayla was trying to pass off his own opinions as the ideas of EU authorities. In addition, although the term ‘that man’ on its own did not constitute an insult, the utterance as a whole went “beyond academic statements.”
English PEN condemned sentence
The suspended prison sentence was handed down on 28 January, and has already been condemned by English PEN. The organisation said that Yayla’s lawyers planned an immediate appeal (which they in fact did on 29 January) and added:
“English PEN calls for the immediate acquittal of Yayla and supports calls for the repeal of Law 5816 in recognition of the fact that it is in contravention of international standards protecting the right to freedom of expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 10 of the European Covenant on Human Rights (ECHR), to which Turkey is a signatory.”
Yayla will be on probation for two years. After his sentence, Yayla had made a statement to the Guardian, in which he said that he would now face problems at universities.
Others sentenced and prosecuted under same law
Law 5816 has caused the imprisonment of writer Mustafa Islamoglu and journalist Hakan Albayrak, as well as Ahmet Önal, owner of Peri Publications.
Others who have been prosecuted under the law are journalist Ipek Calislar, publishers Ragip Zarakolu and Fatih Tas, translators Lütfi Taylan Tosun and Aysel Yildirim, Zehra Comakli Türkmen of the Özgür-Der Children’s Club, and journalists Mehmet Terzi and Oral Calislar. (EÖ/GG/AG)
