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
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
Ragıp Zarakolu
Zarakolu is a veteran free expression activist and publisher against book bans, resulting in a catalog of indictments against him dating back to the early 1970s. He has lived… More
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
İnan Altın Grup Yorum
Altın is 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 threats.… More
Aslı Erdoğan
Novelist and occasional columnist for pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem, Erdoğan was detained after the 2016 coup attempt. Conditionally released four months later, she escaped to Germany. In February 2020, she… More
Nizar Nayouf
Poet, journalist, and activist Nayouf was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1992 for his membership in the banned CDF and for his role as editor-in-chief of the… More
Josep Miquel Arenas Beltrán Valtònyc
Musician "Valtònyc" was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison for “grave insults to the crown,” “glorification of terrorism and humiliation of its victims,” and “threats,” for… More
Svetlana Slapšak
Writer and activist Svetlana Slapšak faced physical and legal threats for her human rights work in Serbia. In 1989, she was dismissed from her job, and in 1991 fled… More
Kirill Serebrennikov
Playwright and theater director Serebrennikov was placed on house arrest in 2017 for embezzlement and convicted in June 2020. The court handed him a three-year suspended sentence and fine… More