The Constitutional Court has announced its ruling regarding “the suspension of the criminal proceeding and rendered the applicant subject to probation for three years” about the book, named “Yumuşak Makine (The Soft Machine)” by William S. Burroughs (Sel Publishing). The court found that it is “a violation of the freedoms of expression, science and art, and press”
The court has decided compensation to be paid of 3 thousand TL in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 2 thousand TL as court expenses total of 5 thousand TL to co-partner of Sel Publishing Company. A copy of the decision was also decided to be sent to the 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance of Istanbul and the Prime Ministry Council To Protect Children From Sexually Explicit Materials.
In its assessment, it was announced that “The freedoms to freely express and disseminate science and arts are specifically safeguarded by Article 27 of the Constitution. Those who create, print and publish the literary works make significant contributions to the dissemination of ideas. Therefore, artistic works are of great importance for a democratic society. States must act more delicately in respect of the obligation to prevent any unnecessary inferences in the freedom of expression of the creators of artistic works” (28 December 2017).
