The IAF is joining calls for the Turkish government to drop charges against novelist and human rights activist Asli Erdogan and linguist Necmiye Alpay. Both were re-arrested last week under the accusation of “membership of a terrorist organisation”.
The International Authors Forum supports the freedom of expression of authors across the globe and is concerned by the current situation in Turkey. As Asli Erdogan noted in her open letter from prison on 1 November 2016: at the time of that letter over 130 journalists were in jail in Turkey, a significant infringement of the human right to freedoms of speech and thought and the societal importance of free press. Freedom of expression is a human right. At the International Authors Forum, we hope to see the swift release for authors held in Turkey solely for exercising their freedom of expression, which is totally unacceptable and we support calls for the EU to take a firm stand on this issue.