JINHA

ISTANBUL – Arrested writer Necmiye Alpay has been awarded honorary membership Swiss German PEN.

Özgür Gündem Board Member, linguist and writer Necmiye Alpay, who has been arrested on charge of “being a member of an illegal organization” has been awarded honorary membership by the Swiss German Pen Center (DSZP). The DSZP underlined the harsh conditions that writers and journalists have been enduring in Turkey in its statement. The statement reads;

“The DSZP has been regularly inviting readers to debates and readings. The Center has acted in concert with the Pen International, which saw the condition of writers on site in 2013 and has protested anti-terror law. Turkish government has carried out mass arrests and discharged a great number of people with the purpose of suppressing the recent coup attempt.

"A large number of writers and journalists, who have nothing to do with the coup attempt, are now in prison waiting for the legal process to begin. The only reason for them to be in prison is that they defend their right to expression.

“The Swiss German Pen Center has awarded Necmiye Alpay honorary membership for solidarity.”

(ödk/dk/gd)