PEN Canada envisions a world where
writers are free to write,
readers are free to read,
and freedom of expression prevails
Osman Kavala is a publisher, civil and cultural rights activist and philanthropist working toward peace, human rights, and democracy in Turkey.
PEN International and 38 civil society organisations deplore the decision by a Turkish court to ban access to Germany-based online radio station Özgürüz (‘We Are Free’), which is headed by Can Dündar. We call on the Turkish authorities to reverse the decision, to stop the harassment of Dündar and to reform the country’s laws and judicial practice […]
PEN International, English PEN and Turkish PEN joined the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and five other international human rights organizations in calling on the international community to take action and pressure Turkey to release tens of thousands of political prisoners who have been deliberately left out of COVID-19 prison releases: Amidst this pandemic, […]
Today, PEN International, Danish PEN, English PEN, German PEN, Norwegian PEN, PEN America, PEN Canada, Swedish PEN and PEN Turkey joined the International Press Institute (IPI) and 10 other international press freedom and freedom of expression groups in a joint public letter sent to the General Director of Turkey’s Public Advertising Agency (BIK), which is […]
In the early hours of Tuesday, April 14 the Turkish Parliament passed a law that will lead to the release of up to 90,000 prisoners. However, it excludes scores of journalists, human rights defenders, politicians, lawyers and others arbitrarily detained pending trial or serving sentences following unfair trials under Turkey’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws that […]
Amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, the Turkish government is accelerating the preparation of a draft law that will reportedly release up to 100,000 prisoners. This is a welcome step. Overcrowding and unsanitary facilities already pose a serious health threat to Turkey’s prison population of nearly 300,000 prisoners and about tens […]
Norwegian PEN, PEN International and ARTICLE 19 condemn the cruel decision to open a new criminal investigation against civil society leader and publisher Osman Kavala, immediately after his acquittal in the ‘Gezi Park’ trial yesterday. The European Court of Human Rights has previously found that his 928-day arbitrary detention violated his right to freedom of […]
Responding to the news that award-winning writer Aslı Erdoğan and renowned linguist Necmiye Alpay were acquitted of terror-related charges by an Istanbul court earlier today, Salil Tripathi, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee said: ‘We, the PEN community, are delighted with the wonderful news today from Turkey, which is all too rare: we celebrate the […]
Last December PEN Belgium/Flanders held a marathon reading of imprisoned author Ahmet Altan’s novel Ik zal de wereld nooit meer zien (I will never see the world again). 30 well-known Flemish writers stood in solidarity with Altan, reading the novel in its entirety. Altan remains in Silviri prison, where he is serving a 10-and-a-half year prison sentence. PEN Belgium/Flanders […]
The Turkish authorities must drop all charges against award-winning writer Aslı Erdoğan, who faces up to nine years and four months in prison for her writings, PEN International said today, ahead of an expected verdict on February 14 2020. Aslı Erdoğan was detained in August 2016 following a police raid on her apartment. She was […]
Finding the Words: Writers on Inspiration, Desire, War, Celebrity, Exile, and Breaking the Rules