In a move seen as a concession to the European Union, Turkey has dropped all charges against novelist Orhan Pamuk.
Pamuk was accused of 'insulting Turkishness' for telling a Swiss newspaper that Turkey was unwilling to confront its role in the massacre of approximately 1 million Armenians by the Turks during World War I and its more recent role fighting against the Kurds in the southeast of Turkey.
'Thirty-thousand Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it,' Pamuk told the newspaper. As a result of that statement, he was accused of insulting the nation.
The E.U. viewed the trial as proof that Turkey was not committed to free speech in the same way that member states were. Turkey had made application to join the European Union and is hoping to become the first predominantly Muslim country to do so.
'This case should not have been opened in the first place,' Haluk Inanici, the author's lawyer told the Associated Press.
Olli Rehn, the commissioner in charge of expansion at the E.U. was pleased with the decision but added that Turkey still has a long way to go and 'needs to fill properly the loopholes in its penal code.'
'Pamuk is not the only case of a person prosecuted for having expressed a nonviolent opinion in Turkey, it's just the most high-profile case,' Rehn explained. 'Several journalists, editors, writers and academics still face similar charges today.'
The case may not be quite over as the prosecutor, Kemal Kerincsiz, indicated he will appeal the court's decision to dismiss the charges.
'It is a scandal,' Kerincsiz said. 'Orhan Pamuk must be punished for insulting Turkey and Turkishness, it is a grave crime and it should not be left unpunished.'
Pamuk has faced severe criticism in Turkey by nationalists since his comments were made known. At the opening of the trial last month, nationalists pelted his car with eggs and shouted 'Traitor!' at him.
It remains to be seen if Turkey's application for the E.U. will be approved but today's decision is a small step in the right direction.
