Türkiye

Türkiye

What You Need to Know

Türkiye has been among the top 10 jailers of writers for the past five years and in 2023, the number of jailed writers decreased slightly from the Freedom to Write Index 2022, from 15 to 14. 

Turkish authorities continued a steady campaign of arrests targeting Kurdish journalists, writers, and artists, including by weaponizing broad anti-terror laws against them and targeting them for arbitrary arrests.

In a PEN America report, exiled Turkish writer Aslı Erdoğan described the government’s targeting of creatives as part of a “systematic approach towards cutting the vocal cords of society.”

Individual Cases

  • Ahmet Altan

    Convicted

    Altan was detained after the 2016 coup attempt on spurious charges. After his life sentence was reduced to 10.5 years,… More


  • İlhan Sami Çomak

    Status:

    Kurdish poet Çomak was arrested in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison for membership in the banned Kurdistan Workers’… More


  • Mehmet Osman Kavala

    Status:

    A noted philanthropist and publisher focusing on promoting intercultural understanding, Kavala was setting up a cultural center for Syrian refugees… More


  • Pınar Selek

    Status:

    A feminist writer, Selek has been prosecuted for over 20 years on false claims related to her involvement in a… More


  • Aslı Erdoğan

    Status:

    Novelist and occasional columnist for pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem, Erdoğan was detained after the 2016 coup attempt. Conditionally released four months… More


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Demonstrators protest outside a court, where the trial of about a dozen employees of the Cumhuriyet daily newspaper on charges of aiding terror groups, took place in Istanbul, on October 31, 2017.
Photo by AP/Lefteris Pitarakis

Cracking Down on Creative Voices: Turkey’s Silencing of Writers, Intellectuals, and Artists Five Years After the Failed Coup

In this report, PEN America outlines the legal mechanisms that the Turkish government has used to silence writers, activists, artists, academics, and creative professionals over the past five years. The paper shines a light on the devastating impact of the crackdown, urging the international community to demonstrate support and solidarity for Turkey’s creative community and push back against the Turkish government’s ongoing repression of freedom of expression.

Experts