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December 2, 2008 5:20:46 AM CST

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Prof Guilty of Insulting Turkish Founder

Posted Jan 28, 08 10:31 AM CST in Crime & Courts,  World 

(Newser) – A Turkish court today handed a political science professor a 15-month suspended sentence for insulting the country's founder. Attila Yayla had suggested that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was not as progressive as official portrayals indicate. The conviction heightens scrutiny of the country's commitment to freedom of expression as it pursues EU membership, reports the BBC.

Lawyers for Yayla, a prominent liberal, immediately said they will appeal. "I am ready for everything, whatever the result," Yayla said. Insulting Ataturk's memory is a crime under Turkish law, as is insulting "Turkishness." The latter law has been used repeatedly to prosecute writers and other intellectuals, including Nobel Prize-winner Orhan Pamuk.

Sources BBC, Associated Press

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, rear-center, and his ministers listen to President Shimon Peres of Israel addressing Turkey's Parliament in Ankara, in this Nov. 13, 2007 file photo. The Turkish...   (Associated Press)
With a portrait of modern Turkey's founder Kemal Ataturk flanked by national flags in the background, Turkish army's tanks roll during a ceremony on the Victory Day in Ankara, Turkey, in this Aug. 30,...   (Associated Press)
The widely revered founder of the Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is pictured in this archival photo. Professor Attila Yayla's criticism of Atatürk have brought Turkey's free-speech concerns to...   (Public Domain)
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, left, and Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, rear center, follow a Turkish guard of honour carrying his wreath during his visit to the mausoleum of modern Turkey's...   (Associated Press)
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