Kurdish PEN member and writer Gulgeş Deryaspî was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ in December 2020.
A verdict on her appeal is expected by the end of April. PEN International believes that Gulgeş Deryaspî is being targeted for her writings promoting Kurdish language and culture and calls for her conviction to be overturned.
TAKE ACTION: Please send appeals to the Turkish authorities:
- Calling for the conviction of Gulgeş Deryaspî to be overturned;
- Calling for an end to the prosecution and detention of journalists and writers simply on the basis of the content of their writing or alleged affiliation, and for all those held in prison for exercising their rights to freedom of expression to be immediately released;
- Calling for an end to the crackdown on the Kurdish regions and for a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.
Abdulhamit Gül
Role: Minister of Justice
Address: Ministry of Justice, Adalet Bakanlığı, 06659 Ankara, Turkey
Contact: [email protected]; Twitter
Send copies to the Embassy of Turkey in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here.
***Please send appeals immediately.