January 29, 2008 7:56AM 

# Atilla Yayla Found Guilty 

By [Tom G. Palmer](https://www.cato.org/people/tom-g-palmer) 

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![Dr. Atilla Yayla](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/download-remote-images/www.cato.org/172395922072/yayla.jpg?itok=kTmyLf04) 

Atilla Yayla, the courageous leader of the Association for Liberal Thinking in Turkey, who has spoken at the Cato Institute and taken part in Cato conferences and programs, has been [found guilty](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7212452.stm) of allegedly insulting the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The 15 month prison sentence was suspended.

Background from my previous blog posts [here](https://www.cato.org/2006/11/24/the-results-of-defending-freedom-of-religion-and-referring-to-this-man-in-turkey/#comments) and [here](https://www.cato.org/2006/12/07/turkish-classical-liberal-defends-himself-and-free-speech/).

The *New York Times* ran a piece on Friday on the likely direction for freedom of speech in Turkey, “[Turkey to Alter Speech Law](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/world/europe/25turkey.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=Atilla+Yayla&st=nyt&oref=slogin&oref=slogin),” which focuses on Atilla’s case.

Atilla is a brave man and a friend of the liberty of everyone. Please write to the Turkish Ambassador in your country, respectfully (please) requesting that proceedings be undertaken to void the sentence. [Here](http://www.turkishembassy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=458) is the info for the Turkish Embassy in the USA.

##### Related Tags 

[Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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