Obscenity charges in Turkey for William Burroughs publisher

A Turkish publisher is currently facing obscenity charges for releasing an edition of the novel, The Soft Machine, written by the much acclaimed William Burroughs.

Irfan Sanci has previously been sued under Article 226 of the Turkish penal code, for publishing books including Guillaume Apollinaire's Adventures of the Young Don Juan, but was acquitted in December 2010. Both he and his translator now face charges over the publication of William Burroughs' book, which could ultimately mean a nine year jail sentence for them both.

The International Publishers Association have called the situation "mind-blowing and disappointing" and called for Sanci and his translator's immediate acquittal, saying that the obscenity charges violate Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European convention on human rights.

"Of course we are fighting it [and] we will win," said Sanci's daughter Bilge Sanci, executive editor at his publishing house Sel Yayincilik. "This book is a symbol of an author of the Beat generation."

"Turkish readers have the right to read books the rest of the world can read," she added. "And we haven't had any complaints from readers. The state's argument is about 'Turkish moral codes' but we are asking 'how can the state can dictate a person's morality?'"

IPA Freedom to Publish Committee chair Bjørn Smith-Simonsen called the prosecution "undemocratic, anachronistic and unworthy of a modern and open society ... Sanci is being harassed for doing his publisher's job. At a time when freedom to publish conditions deteriorate again in Turkey, it is urgent to stop these practices and to leave Irfan Sanci alone."

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