Turkish judge in Chomsky case frees publisher

Noam Chomsky, one of America's leading philosophers and an icon of the radical left, took centre stage in an Istanbul court yesterday when a judge threw out charges against the Turkish publisher of his book criticising treatment of the Kurdish minority.

Bespectacled and mild-mannered, Mr Chomsky cut an unlikely figure in the crowded courtroom where "crimes against the state" are tried. The 72-year-old linguistics professor watched as prosecutors abandoned earlier claims and accepted the defence argument that Fatih Tas, of Aram Publishing, had not spread separatist propaganda. The charge is often levelled at critics of Turkey's policy towards its estimated 12 million Kurds.

Bekir Rayif Aldemir, the prosecutor, said he "understood the book did not seek to divide the Turkish nation".

Mr Tas faced a year in prison for printing American Interventionism, a collection of Mr Chomsky's political essays in which he accuses Turkey of "brutal repression" of the Kurds.

"The prosecutor clearly made the right decision," Mr Chomsky told reporters after the hearing. "Hopefully this will serve as a step for establishing freedom of speech in Turkey."

Mr Tas, a 22-year-old university student, has six other cases pending against him, carrying a possible 24-year prison term, all for printing articles or books dealing with the Kurdish issue. He called yesterday's ruling "insincere" and suggested the presence of the professor from the Mass-achusetts Institute of Technology had helped him escape a jail sentence.

"The case was dismissed, but this is not a sincere verdict, it was given because of Mr Chomsky's support," he said.

No charges were filed against Mr Chomsky. Defence lawyers had asked that he be included as a co-defendant, but prosecutors declined.

A vocal critic of US foreign policy, Mr Chomsky said before the hearing that Americans had a responsibility to monitor and protest against human rights abuses in Turkey, which is a close ally. "When the United States provides 80 per cent of arms to Turkey for the express purpose of carrying out repression, that becomes my responsibility," he said.

The timing of Mr Chomsky's arrival could not have been worse for Turkey. Just a few streets from the State Security Court, where the hearing was held, the Turkish government was playing host to a high-profile international conference bringing together foreign ministers from Islamic and European Union countries.

Most of the allegations of human rights abuses in Turkey stem from fighting between security forces and Kurdish rebels seeking self-rule. Some 37,000 people have died in the conflict, which began in 1984.

Rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire after the 1999 capture of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, and an atmosphere of relative peace now prevails. Turkey has started phasing out emergency rule in the mainly Kurdish regions.

Also in 1999, Turkey became the first predominantly Muslim nation to join the EU's list of official candidates for membership. But the country's poor human rights record and the refusal to grant its estimated 12 million Kurds greater cultural rights are cited among the chief reasons why entry is continually delayed.

Earlier this month, parliament passed a set of human rights reforms intended to help Turkey meet EU standards.