Prominent Turkish writer Cezmi Ersoz, who was charged with ‘discouraging people from military service’ in an article in Leman magazine on September 2007, has been acquitted today.

A lawsuit was filed against Ersoz for his article titled ‘Askerliğin Dönüşü Güzeldir’ (‘Coming back from the army is beautiful’) under the controversial Article 318 of Turkish Penal Code (TPC), which punishes conscientious objectors by providing imprisonment ranging from six months to two years. In many cases, the penalties increase by a half when the news media are used to break the law.

Turkey remains the only Council of Europe member that does not recognise conscientious objection as a constitutional right.