PEN Turkey: ‘We Find Imprisonment of 123 Journalists and Writers Unacceptable'

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International PEN Association of Writers' Turkey Center organized a press conference on the occasion of the International Day of the Imprisoned Writers today (November 15).

The press conference was held by PEN Turkey Center's 2nd Chair Halil İbrahim Özcan, Tahir Şilkan from the Writers Union of Turkey and Turkish Publishers Association Chair Kenan Kocatürk.

Journalists from Turkey and international press also followed the press conference, which was organized with the aim of drawing attention to the imprisonment and difficult conditions of writers who are behind bars in Turkey and in the world for having expressed their opinions by writing.

CLICK - November 15 Internations Day of the Imprisoned Writers: 1 Poet, 2 Journalists-Writers from Turkey

As it has also been previously announced by PEN International, this year, the association and its centers have specifically focused on the situation of four imprisoned journalists from Bangladesh, Mexico, Egypt and Ukraine:

Activist writer-photographer Shahidul Alam from Bangladesh faces 7 to 14 years in prison; journalist-writer Dawit Isaak from Sweden-Eritrea has been in prison in Eritrea for 17 years, he is prevented from communicating with the outside world; activist-writer Wael Abbas from Egypt has still been in prison; filmmaker-writer Oleg Sentsov from Ukraine, who protests the occupation of Crimea by Russia, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Siberia.

Last year, one of the names specifically focused by the PEN was journalist and painter Zehra Doğan, who has been behind bars since June 12, 2017.

"We will continue writing until our dreams come true"

In his speech at the press conference, PEN Turkey Center's 2nd Chair Halil İbrahim Özcan said,

"What would you think when you saw a title 'November 15 International Day of the Imprisoned Writers no longer exists'? We will continue writing until this title, until our dreams come true.

"We find the situation of 123 journalists and writers, who are currently behind bars in our country due to their opinions and writings as part of anti-democratic practices, unacceptable."

"Freedom of thought is freedom to express thoughts"

Taking the floor after Özcan, Tahir Şilkan from Writers Union of Turkey stressed that freedom of thought means freedom to express thoughts.

Stating that there is no democracy in a country where freedoms do not exist, Şilkan underlined that fascism, racism, discrimination and warmongering cannot be seen within the scope of freedom of thought. Şilkan added,

"We are on the side of journalists and writers who have been behind bars in relation with thought crimes. I hope that we will not see any one of our friends in prison on such charges."

"Our rights are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"

At the press conference, Turkish Publishers Association Chair Kenan Kocatürk reminded the audience that the year 2018 has marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and stressed that Turkey is among the signatory countries of the declaration.

Emphasizing that freedoms of thought and expression are among the two basic rules of publishing, Kocatürk also stated that the publishing sector has been basing its activities on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (HA/SD)