Bestselling Turkish writer Elif Shafak finds herself in a similar situation as what plagued Orhan Pamuk earlier this year. She’s on trial in her native Turkey for the dubious crime of “insulting Turkishness,” and as she tells the Guardian, the Turkish language has become something of a battleground, and those who advocate free speech are in the way.
What’s especially amazing is that Shafak is not accused of “insulting Turkishness” because of her campaigning journalism or her academic work, but for remarks made by a fictional character in her latest novel, THE BASTARD OF ISTANBUL (originally published in English.) Originally a bestseller in Turkish translation, a complaint lodged by nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz has landed her, and her publisher, in court – at the worst possible time.
“From now on it is a long legal battle,” the six-months-pregnant author says. “The later stages of the pregnancy will probably coincide with the first stages of the trial.” And if her rebuttals are unsuccessful, Shafak faces up to three years in prison and a campaign of intimidation and harassment waged by rightwing agitators.
But one person who knows Shafak’s work well is unsurprised by the news. “Most writers that are any good would get into trouble with the Turkish authorities,” Serpent’s Tail publisher Pete Ayrton explains. “She’s a very acerbic voice. Her novels are lively, episodic and innovative. She’s obviously a feminist, and her work is obviously rooted in contemporary social conditions in Turkey.”