Yavuz Ekinci, a Kurdish writer and a teacher with over 10 books, more than 5 awards for his contributions, and adaptation of his writings into theatre and cinematography is on trial in Turkey.
One of his books called Ruyasi Bolunenler (Dreams Divided) a novel based on a Kurdish person’s journey of fleeing Turkey and finding a new life in Germany, as well as trying to find his brother in the Qandil mountains, where Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is located, was published in 2014. Almost 10 years ago, on the 7th of February 2023, a citizen complained about the novel based on containing ‘terror propaganda’ on the Presidential Communication Center (CIMER). In March 2023, the Istanbul Court banned the book’s publication, distribution and sale; and the books available were collected. On the 18th of September 2024, Ekinci was on trial for legitimising terror propaganda via press publication (under Article 7 Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law No 3713). The court decided for the next trial to be in December 2024, to investigate further into the print and publish dates and receive the prosecutor’s response.
Ekinci highlighted that the complaint was done after 10 years of the book’s publishment, which was the next day of the last major earthquake in Southeast Turkey and Syria. It was a magnitude of 7.8 and caused the death of more than 55,000 people, destructing the region and leaving it unlivable in most places. The Turkish Government was held accountable due to lack of regulations in the regions that could have saved lives. Ekinci drew attention to the earthquake’s impact in the Kurdish populated Southeast region and the complaint being done the day after the major earthquake. It is also highlighted that he is on trial for writing a fictional novel, and the state is trying to force upon him how and what to write about. He reiterated “It is hard to live in Türkiye as a regular human being, let alone as a writer” to focus on repression happening in Türkiye that may affect anyone, not just writers.
PEN International highlights that Article 7, Ekinci was on trial under, has been used “routinely for silencing independent voices”. This highlights the efforts to silence the voices that do not convey the current ruling party’s agenda as the controversial counter-terrorism law has been overused.
We as RIGHTSDEFENDERS, call for an immediate drop of charges against Yavuz Ekinci and highlight the importance of amplification of independent writers’ voices and publishments. This is a vital step to convey freedom of speech and freedom of the press without the influence of the ruling party.
References
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68203542
https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=3713&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yavuz_Ekinci
https://artdogistanbul.com/en/writer-yavuz-ekinci-faces-up-to-7-years-in-prison/
https://www.duvarenglish.com/author-faces-terror-propaganda-charges-for-fiction-novel-news-64972