Mustafa Sönmez

Economist and columnist Mustafa Sönmez was arrested in April 2019 and charged with "insulting the president" regarding tweets he posted calling President Erdoğan “the chief of a thief gang”… More

Nurcan Kaya

Nurcan Kaya

A columnist, lawyer, and human rights defender, Kaya’s work focuses on women’s rights, education, and peaceful protests. In September 2021, she was convicted on propaganda charges based on a… More

Oktay Candemir

Candemir is a journalist who writes pro-Kurdish columns who has been prosecuted 25 times in the last 2 years. On September 7, 2020, he was detained for a tweet… More

Ruhi Karadağ

Ruhi Karadağ is a journalist turned writer/TV producer who was targeted for his book Yarali Yonca. Karadağ was arrested at the airport on March 24, 2021, after being exiled… More

Gökhan Yavuzel

Gökhan Yavuzel

Yavuzel is a Kurdish author, columnist, and commentator. In July 2021, he was attacked after appearing on a leaked hitlist of Turkish dissidents. Since then, authorities have issued warrants… More

Gulgeç Akdeniz Gulgeş Deryaspî

Gulgeç Akdeniz is a literary writer who has published three books in Kurdish. She was arrested on July 25, 2019 during raids across Bitlis province in eastern Türkiye. On… More

Güvenç Dağüstün

Güvenç Dağüstün

Dağüstün is a singer, online commentator, and columnist known as a sharp critic of the government. In July 2021, he was briefly detained due to his tweet criticizing academic… More

Hasan Cemal

Hasan Cemal

Hasan Cemal, a prolific author, columnist, and former newspaper editor, has been continually harrassed, slapped with legal charges, and detained due to his opinion writing. He is currently on… More

Hayko Bağdat

Bağdat is a Turkish-Armenian columnist who has been targeted in the past for his articles criticizing the government. He now lives in exile in Berlin. In 2019 he was… More

Meral Şimşek

Meral Şimşek

Meral Şimşek is a Kurdish writer who been targeted for her poetry and other writings. She faces multiple trials on spurious “terrorism” charges. In June 2021, she was detained… More