Ayşe Düzkan

On June 11, 2019, Düzkan was released after serving 18 months in Bakırköy prison in Istanbul. She was originally imprisoned in January 2018 on terrorism charges for her work… More

Rakhim Esenov

In February 2004, Esenov was charged with “inciting social, national, and religious hatred using the mass media” for statements made by characters in his novel, Ventsenosny Skitalets (The Crowned… More

Bayram Kaya

Kaya, who exposed the complicity of the Turkish intelligence service in the murder of journalist Hrant Dink, was detained in a sweep of journalists following the failed 2016 coup.… More

Abdullah Kılıç

Police detained Kılıç in July 2016 in the direct aftermath of the failed coup against the government of President Erdogan. Kılıç, a columnist, was accused of being a follower… More

Emre Orman

In October 2019, Orman was arrested for online criticism of Türkiye's invasion of southwestern Kurdistan. He was charged with spreading terrorist propaganda and released weeks later on appeal. Convicted… More

Emre Soncan

Foreign military affairs correspondent and author Soncan was arrested in a purge of suspected followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen, who was blamed for the July 2016 attempted coup.… More

Mümtaz’er Türköne

Police detained Türköne, a columnist for the daily Zaman, as part of a purge of suspected Gülenists after the failed July 2016 coup. Türköne was sentenced in 2018 to… More

Ali Ünal

A columnist at the daily Zaman, Ünal was arrested in August 2016 during a purge of followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gülen following the coup attempt. Ünal had previously… More

Writers at Risk Database

Ekrem Dumanli

The former editor-in-chief of the popular Turkish newspaper Zaman, Dumanli was arrested in December 2014 in a crackdown on journalists associated with the Gülenist movement. Although he was released… More

Writers at Risk Database

Pınar Selek

A feminist writer, Selek has been prosecuted for over 20 years on false claims related to her involvement in a 1998 explosion in Istanbul. She currently lives in exile… More