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TURKISH PUBLISHER RAGIP ZARAKOLU ARRESTED
By Maryann Yin
mediabistro.com
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/turkish-publisher-ragip-zarakolu-arrested_b41324
Nov 1 2011
Belge Publishing House director Ragip Zarakolu was arrested on
October 28th. Zarakolu, a member of the Turkish PEN Center, has been
targeted by the Turkish government for his refusal to yield to their
censorship laws.
His legal battles began when he launched the publishing house in 1977
with his wife, Ayse Nur. They published books by political prisoners
and nonfiction titles about the Armenian genocide. Larry Siems,
director of the Freedom to Write program at the PEN American Center,
declared the organization's mounting concern over "a disturbing
acceleration of violations of the rights of Turkish and Kurdish
activists, writers, and scholars."
Here's more from the release: "Turkish authorities have arrested up
to 1,000 scholars, writers, publishers, and rights advocates during
a two-year crackdown targeting activists who focus on Kurdish issues.
This list of those arrested Friday also includes BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı,
a constitutional law expert and a member of the pro-Kurdish Peace and
Democracy Party (BDP). Zarakolu's son, Deniz Zarakolu, who is an editor
at Belge Publishing House and a Ph.D. student at Bilgi University,
was arrested on October 4. It is unclear whether charges have been
filed against any of those arrested in Friday's roundup."
By Maryann Yin
mediabistro.com
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/turkish-publisher-ragip-zarakolu-arrested_b41324
Nov 1 2011
Belge Publishing House director Ragip Zarakolu was arrested on
October 28th. Zarakolu, a member of the Turkish PEN Center, has been
targeted by the Turkish government for his refusal to yield to their
censorship laws.
His legal battles began when he launched the publishing house in 1977
with his wife, Ayse Nur. They published books by political prisoners
and nonfiction titles about the Armenian genocide. Larry Siems,
director of the Freedom to Write program at the PEN American Center,
declared the organization's mounting concern over "a disturbing
acceleration of violations of the rights of Turkish and Kurdish
activists, writers, and scholars."
Here's more from the release: "Turkish authorities have arrested up
to 1,000 scholars, writers, publishers, and rights advocates during
a two-year crackdown targeting activists who focus on Kurdish issues.
This list of those arrested Friday also includes BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı,
a constitutional law expert and a member of the pro-Kurdish Peace and
Democracy Party (BDP). Zarakolu's son, Deniz Zarakolu, who is an editor
at Belge Publishing House and a Ph.D. student at Bilgi University,
was arrested on October 4. It is unclear whether charges have been
filed against any of those arrested in Friday's roundup."