Reporter’s Trial Begins In Turkey

The trial of an American reporter opened here Thursday, the first time Turkey has prosecuted a foreign correspondent under controversial laws limiting freedom of expression.

Reuters news agency correspondent Aliza Marcus is accused of “provoking enmity and hatred by displaying racism or regionalism” in a November 1994 report about Turkey’s 11-year-old fight with rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party. If convicted, she could face one to three years in jail under laws that have put more than 170 Turkish writers and intellectuals behind bars.

Diplomatic pressure from Western allies - even an intervention with Prime Minister Tansu Ciller by visiting American newsman Walter Cronkite - failed to persuade the Istanbul state security court to drop charges against Marcus, 33, of Westfield, N.J.

The case could hardly come at a worse time for Turkey’s image. President Suleyman Demirel is paying an official visit to Washington next week. And the European Parliament is demanding improvements in the nation’s human rights record before it will ratify a key customs union.