Writer Akhanlı, Previously Detained in Spain Released

Click to read the article in Turkish

Previously detained upon Turkey’s request in the city of Granada in Spain on Saturday (August 19), German citizen writer and rights advocate Doğan Akhanlı was released yesterday.

According to the German newspaper der Spiegel the court on duty in Madrid has allotted Turkey 40 days to provide justification for its demand of extradition.

Akhanlı cannot be arrested during this period but also won’t be able to leave Spain. The writer will have to report to Madrid police once a week.

German Deutsche Welle (DW) reported that Berlin stepped in following the arrest of German citizen Akhanlı. Meeting with his Spanish counterpart Alfonso Dastis, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel asked that Akhanlı not be extradited to Turkey and that Germany be included in this process.

It was reported that Akhanlı, who was on vacation in Granada, was detained during an ID check by police on the grounds that a “red notice” had been issued by Interpol for his arrest.

Doğan Akhanlı case

A criminal case was brought against writer Doğan Akhanlı on accusations that he ordered a burglary of an exchange office in Eminönü in 1989, and an aggravated lifetime sentence was demanded for him.

A search warrant was issued for Akhanlı, who had started to reside in Germany in 1991.

Akhanlı was arrested on August 10, 2010 in Turkey when he came to visit his sick father for one last time.

After 113 days of imprisonment, he was released on December 8, 2010, but his father lost his life while he was in prison.

The İstanbul 11th Heavy Penal Court ordered Akhanlı's acquittal in an October 12, 2011 hearing.

The Supreme Court reversed the acquittal decision on the grounds that "the defendant was a member of a terror organization at the time of the crime" and because "Article 146/1 of the former Turkish Penal Court needs to be discussed".

Following this verdict, this first hearing was held at the 11th Heavy Penal Court at the Çağlayan Courthouse in İstanbul. His lawyers asked for acquittal. The court ordered a "red notice" warrant for Akhanlı so that he could be heard in court.. After seven years, Akhanlı was detained in Spain on Saturday.

Who is Doğan Akhanlı?

Akhanlı was born in the Artvin district of Şavşat in 1957. He was captured in 1985 in the wake of the September 12 coup while he was a student in the. He was severely tortured. He served over two years in a military prison. He worked as waiter and fisherperson. So that he would not go to prison again, he went to Germany in 1991.

Akhanlı has researched topics such as genocide in the 20th century, and he has written novels about massacres of Jews and Armenians. (HK/TK)