Orhan Pamuk Case Closed

PanARMENIAN.Net - January 22 the Istanbul court decided to close legal proceedings vs. well-known Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who was accused of "outraging the Turkish nation". In 2005 in an interview with a Swiss newspaper Pamuk stated that "1 million of Armenians and 30 thousand of Kurds were slaughtered in Turkey and no one except him dares to speak of it." CNN-Turk TV Company reports that the letter addressed to the court by the Turkish Ministry of Justice says they are not authorized to take decisions on continuing the court examinations. Thus the court decreed to close the case. A representative of the Turkish Ministry of Justice refrained from commenting on the court decision and noted that the Ministry will make a statement today. In December 2005 Pamuk's trial was postponed till February 7, 2006. During this period the Justice Ministry was charged with the task to decide on the new or old Criminal Code, according to which Pamuk had to stand trial. Pamuk's fans and representatives of European structures closely watched the process. Even Turkish analysts and journalists say that the legal proceedings vs. Orhan Pamuk damaged Turkey's authority even worse than his interview with Swiss newspaper when he touched upon the Armenian Genocide and the killings of 30 thousand Kurds.