Helin Bölek Grup Yorum
Singer Bölek was a member of activist collective and band Grup Yorum. Since the band’s inception, its critical songs have angered the Turkish government and members have faced serious… More
Sultan Gökçek Grup Yorum
Gökçek is a member of activist collective and band Grup Yorum, whose critical songs have angered the Turkish government since its inception. She has been arrested in police raids… More
Ayşe Nur Zarakolu
Founder of the Freedom to Publish Commission, Zarakolu was a pioneering female figure in Türkiye's literary world. A political essayist herself, she was arrested over 30 times for her… More
Doğan Akhanli
A writer specializing in genocide studies, Akhanli has been arrested and imprisoned several times for his work on the Armenian Genocide. In 1991, he fled Türkiye for Germany where,… More
Can Dündar
A former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, Dündar has been directly targeted by President Erdoğan for his writing. In 2020, Dündar was convicted in absentia to over 27 years in prison… More
Büşra Ersanli
In June 2018, Ersanli was convicted on terrorism charges for her endorsement of a petition, organized by a group called Academics for Peace, criticizing military violence against the Kurds.… More
Mehmet Osman Kavala
A noted philanthropist and publisher focusing on promoting intercultural understanding, Kavala was setting up a cultural center for Syrian refugees when he was detained on terrorism charges in late… More
Sevan Nişanyan
Turkish Armenian writer Sevan Nişanyan was imprisoned in 2012 for a blog entry he wrote criticizing government attempts to ban criticism of the Prophet Muhammad. However, in July 2017,… More
Nedim Türfent
Kurdish reporter and poet Türfent was arrested in May 2016 and sentenced to 8 years in prison on terrorism charges. During pretrial interrogations, he was tortured and forced to… More