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Elif Shafak: Writing Under a Watchful Eye

Author Elif Shafak was acquitted after being taking to trial for "insulting Turkishness" when a fictional character described the Armenian genocide in her latest book.
AFP/Getty Images
Author Elif Shafak was acquitted after being taking to trial for "insulting Turkishness" when a fictional character described the Armenian genocide in her latest book.

When Elif Shafak's novel The Bastard of Istanbul was published in her home country, the best-selling author was was accused of "public denigration of Turkishness." She was eventually acquitted. As many as 60 writers, journalists, publishers, scholars and intellectuals have been prosecuted under the Turkish penal code. One of them was editor Hrant Dink, who was assassinated last month by a Turkish fanatic.

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