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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Turkey court clears archaeologist | Turkey court clears archaeologist |
| (4 days later) | |
| A court in the Turkish city of Istanbul has acquitted a 92-year-old academic of charges of insulting Muslim women and inciting religious hatred. | A court in the Turkish city of Istanbul has acquitted a 92-year-old academic of charges of insulting Muslim women and inciting religious hatred. |
| Archaeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig was prosecuted over a book in which she linked the wearing of headscarves with ancient Sumerian sexual rites. | Archaeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig was prosecuted over a book in which she linked the wearing of headscarves with ancient Sumerian sexual rites. |
| The judge ruled at the first hearing of her trial that her actions did not constitute a crime. | The judge ruled at the first hearing of her trial that her actions did not constitute a crime. |
| Dr Cig's publisher was also cleared in a trial lasting less than half an hour. | Dr Cig's publisher was also cleared in a trial lasting less than half an hour. |
| The archaeologist was applauded by supporters as she left the courtroom. | The archaeologist was applauded by supporters as she left the courtroom. |
| Intellectuals prosecuted | Intellectuals prosecuted |
| This trial is the latest in a series of prosecutions of Turkish intellectuals, including 2006 Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and novelist Elif Shafak. | This trial is the latest in a series of prosecutions of Turkish intellectuals, including 2006 Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and novelist Elif Shafak. |
| Charges were brought against her by a Turkish lawyer who took offence at her 2005 book "My Reactions as a Citizen". | Charges were brought against her by a Turkish lawyer who took offence at her 2005 book "My Reactions as a Citizen". |
| In the book Dr Cig said that headscarves were first worn more than 5,000 years ago by Sumerian priestesses who initiated young men into sex. | In the book Dr Cig said that headscarves were first worn more than 5,000 years ago by Sumerian priestesses who initiated young men into sex. |
| Dr Cig is an expert in the ancient Sumerian civilisation which emerged in Mesopotamia in the third millennia BC. | Dr Cig is an expert in the ancient Sumerian civilisation which emerged in Mesopotamia in the third millennia BC. |
| The issue of headscarves has polarised Turkey in recent years. | The issue of headscarves has polarised Turkey in recent years. |
| Although predominantly Muslim, Turkey is a secular state and headscarves are banned in government offices and universities. | Although predominantly Muslim, Turkey is a secular state and headscarves are banned in government offices and universities. |
| The ruling Justice and Development Party, which has roots in political Islam, has unsuccessfully tried to lift the headscarf ban. | The ruling Justice and Development Party, which has roots in political Islam, has unsuccessfully tried to lift the headscarf ban. |