Publisher cleared of anti-Turkish crime

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Four Turks were acquitted of insulting "Turkishness" Wednesday in their translation of a book by prominent U.S. linguist and media critic Noam Chomsky.

Publisher Fatih Tas was found not guilty, along with a translator and two editors, of violating the penal code in publishing Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media," the BBC reports.

The book examines the role media play in setting social agendas and criticizes Turkey's treatment of its Kurdish minority.

The European Union has pressed Turkey to reform the code, which it views as an obstacle to freedom of expression.

The acquittal followed the acquittal of another author Tuesday of insulting the country's founder.

Ipek Calislar had been charged with insulting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in a biography of his wife that claimed he fled an assassination attempt dressed in women's clothing.

Insulting Ataturk is a crime in Turkey.