Turk court urges change in controversial rights law

ISTANBUL, Oct 5 (Reuters) A Turkish court has opened the way for a possible revision of an article in the country's penal code used to prosecute dozens of writers and intellectuals on charge of insulting national identity.

Giving its opinion on a ruling in a case closely watched by the European Union, the Istanbul court said the concept of ''Turkishness'' in Article 301 needed to be more precisely defined, newspapers said today.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has lobbied the government in Ankara to revise or scrap the article, which he says violates European principles of free speech. Turkey began EU entry talks a year ago, but is unlikely to join the bloc for at least a decade.

The opinion referred to the case of leading female author Elif Shafak, acquitted last month of ''insulting Turkishness'' for comments made by fictional characters in her novel.

''Efforts to limit freedom of thought and expression may have grave consequences,'' the court said in its full opinion on the Shafak ruling, newspapers reported today.

''It is unthinkable to talk about crimes committed by fictional characters... It is necessary to define the boundaries of the Turkishness concept and place it on firm ground.'' Turkey's centre-right government has said it needs more time to assess whether it is necessary to change Article 301. It fears a nationalist backlash ahead of elections due next year if it tries to change the law.

An EU Commission source told Reuters that Brussels would study the opinion, but said a higher court has already served another writer with a suspended jail sentence under Article 301 and that this ruling took precedence in the evolution of case law.

''We understand there is a will in Ankara to solve this issue through case law, but this will take many years to build up. We believe article 301 needs to be changed now,'' the source said.

INSULTING ATATURK In a separate case, also seen as testing Turkey's commitment to freedom of expression, an Istanbul court today adjourned the trial of a biographer charged with insulting Kemal Ataturk, revered founder of modern Turkey.

Ipek Calislar faces up to 4-1/2 years in prison if convicted over a passage about Ataturk in a biography of his wife ''Latife Hanim'' under a special law -- not part of the penal code -- designed to protect the memory of the leader, who died in 1938.

The Istanbul court judge said her trial was postponed until December 19 due to technical reasons.

Prosecutors opened the case against Calislar over an extract in her book that describes Ataturk disguising himself in a chador, the head-to-toe black robe worn by many pious Muslim women, to flee with women and children from his house in Ankara.

REUTERS PB PM1604