Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk under probe for allegedly insulting Turkey's founder

Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk is being investigated for allegedly insulting modern Turkey's founder in his newest novel, "Nights of Plague." After a lawyer named Tarcan Ülük in Izmir, western Turkey, claimed that Pamuk insulted Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is considered as the founding father and first president of Turkey in his latest novel, Turkish authorities initiated an investigation into him.

Pamuk was earlier investigated in April 2021 on similar charges but the case was rejected owing to a lack of evidence, resulting in a non-prosecution. According to Pen America, following an appeal by Tarcan Ülük, who filed the original complaint in April, the Criminal Judgeship of Peace resumed the inquiry in November.

Pamuk refutes accusations 

Pamuk and his publishing house, Yapi Kredi Yayincilik have refuted accusations that the work offends Ataturk. He stated that there is no disrespect for Ataturk in the 'Nights of Plague,' which he worked on for 5 years, according to Bianet news website. He further stated that the novel was written with enthusiasm and reverence for these libertarian and heroic figures. Turkish people hold Ataturk in high regard as the man who, in the aftermath of World War I created modern Turkey from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.

Pamuk faced claims of "insulting Turkishness" in 2005 before earning the Nobel Prize in 2006 for telling a Swiss newspaper that around one million Armenians were killed on Turkish soil in the early twentieth century. Historians believe that up to 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by Ottoman Turks during the Ottoman Empire's final days, in what is largely considered the first genocide of the twentieth century. While Turkey acknowledges that many people died during that time, it rejects the label genocide, claiming that the death toll is exaggerated and that the killings were caused by civil turmoil as the Ottoman Empire crumbled.

Turkish government imprisoned at least 25 writers in 2020

Earlier in 2019, Ahmet Altan, Turkish Journalist and novelist was convicted of allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Osman Kavala. According to Pen America's 2020 Freedom to Write Index, the Turkish government imprisoned at least 25 writers in 2020, which is the world's third-highest number of writers and public intellectuals.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image: Twitter/@NobelPrize