Turkey: Obscenity trials against publishers and translators of works by foreign writers
"The publisher and translator of the Turkish translation of The Soft Machine by William Burroughs will come before the court for the latest hearing of the case today, Tuesday 11 October, fifty years after it was first published in English in 1961. Burroughs' book is seen as a classic of the Beat Generation, clearly influenced by the author's own drug use and addiction, which he describes in graphic detail in the book, alongside the central story of a time traveller battling with Mayan priests who use mind control over slaves. It is notable for the use of "cut up and fold technique" where two other books were cut up and rearranged to create new, non-linear text.
The case against the Turkish edition [...] was brought following an investigation by the Board for Protection of Minors from Obscene Publications. The Board pronounced the book as "not compatible with the morals of society and the people's honour", "injurious to sexuality" and "generally repugnant". A number of academics from various Turkish university literature departments have been asked for their view on whether the book can be considered pornography or literature, and their opinions will form part of the hearing. The book is published by the Sel Publishing House, whose owner, Irfan Sanci, has been tried on similar charges in the past, notably last year when he was acquitted for his publication of the Turkish translation of Apollinaire's The Adventures of a Young Don Juan. He was awarded the 2010 International Publisher's Association Freedom Prize. Charged with obscenity under Article 266 of the Turkish Penal Code Sanci, and The Soft Machine's translator, Suha Sertabiboglu, face between six months and three years in prison. PEN Norway's President, Anders Heger, will be observing the trial on behalf of the International Publisher's Association Freedom to Publish Committee.
In September 2011, another publisher and translator were told that they will be brought to trial, also on charges of obscenity under Article 266, this time for the Turkish translation of a contemporary work, Snuff, by American writer Chuck Palahniuk. The book had been brought before the Board for the Protection of Children from Obscene Publications in May 2011 which judged that there were grounds for indictment."
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