Turkish author's insult trial halted. The insult was mentioning the Armenian genocide
Turk writer's insult trial halted

The trial of acclaimed Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk on charges of insulting his nation, has been suspended minutes after his first court appearance.

An Istanbul judge said the prosecution could not proceed until it had been approved by the ministry of justice.

Mr Pamuk is accused over remarks about the alleged mass killing of Kurds and Ottoman Armenians - deaths Turkey insists cannot be classed as genocide.
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The charges relate to a magazine interview earlier this year in which Orhan Pamuk said: "One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares talk about it."

Turkey maintains the deaths of Armenians in conflicts accompanying the collapse of the Ottoman empire in the early 20th century were not part of a genocidal campaign, arguing that many ethnic Turks were also killed in that period.

Turkey also denies its efforts to contain a separatist uprising in its Kurdish community in the 1980s and 1990s can be classed as genocide.

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred sent this article, Turkish author on trial, Europe looks on anxiously

Pamuk, Turkey's best known novelist and author of "My Name is Red" and "Snow", is charged under Article 301 of the revised Turkish penal code, which has been widely criticised abroad.

He angered many Turks in February when he said a million Armenians were killed in massacres 90 years ago and 30,000 Kurds in recent decades -- issues which he said were taboo in Turkey.

The case has stirred strong passions among both critics and supporters of Pamuk, touted as a future possible winner of the Nobel Prize. After fierce media criticism of his comments, an official in central Turkey ordered the destruction of his books.

With characteristic force, the EU comes to the fore:

The EU has warned the trial raises doubts over free speech in Turkey.

And if the trial doesn't go away, the EU will taunt them a second time, maybe?

Or maybe the Turks should just endow a chair at a major university, again.