PEN Belarus joins the statement of PEN International about Kurdish writer Yavuz Ekinci.
‘That Kurdish writer Yavuz Ekinci finds himself in court again for his writings after the case against him was dismissed exposes the authorities of Türkiye’s pernicious pursuit of those who dare explore uncomfortable truths. We urge the authorities to stop weaponizing the justice system to silence diverse voices and to end their relentless judicial harassment of Ekinci once and for all,’ said Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President.
04 July 2025 – The authorities of Türkiye should urgently drop bogus terror-propaganda charges against Kurdish writer Yavuz Ekinci, PEN International said today. Although the case against Ekinci was dismissed in December 2024, the prosecution subsequently appealed the decision, and the next hearing will be held at the 23rd High Criminal Court in Istanbul on 9 July. Ekinci faces up to seven-and-a-half years in prison if convicted.
Writer Yavuz Ekinci stands accused of ‘making terrorist propaganda’ in relation to his book Rüyası Bölünenler (Dream Divided), a charge that carries up to seven and a half years in prison under Article 7 of Türkiye’s Anti-Terror Law No. 3713 – routinely used by the authorities of Türkiye to silence independent voices. Ekinci’s trial opened on 18 September 2024 at the 23rd High Criminal Court in Istanbul. In a welcome move, and following PEN’s campaign, the court dismissed all charges against Ekinci on 9 December 2024. However, the prosecution appealed the decision, with the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice subsequently ruling on 8 May 2025 that the case should be sent back to trial.
Already on 14 March 2023, a court in Istanbul ruled that Dream Divided included content amounting to ‘terrorist propaganda’ and banned its publication, distribution, and sale. Copies of the book were also confiscated. The case was pending before Türkiye’s Constitutional Court at the time of writing. Published in 2014, Dream Divided tells the journey of a Kurdish man who fled Türkiye for political reasons and his struggles to build a new life in Germany. Upon learning that his father is gravely ill, the protagonist sets on a journey to find his long-lost brother, who took up arms years prior and fled to the Qandil Mountains. The book ends with a call for unity and peace.
Access to diverse literature, thought and opinion is a fundamental right that must be upheld by governments worldwide. Freedom of expression, and the freedoms to publish and read, are intrinsically linked. PEN International urges the authorities of Türkiye to abide by their international human rights obligations, starting by urgently dropping all charges against Ekinci and desisting from punishing imagination and expression.
Additional information
Yavuz Ekinci, born in 1979, has received multiple awards for his short stories, including the 2005 Haldun Taner Award and the 2007 Yunus Nadi Award. His work focuses on the plight of Kurdish people in Türkiye and has been translated into German, Greek, and Kurdish. He also works as a teacher and editor of Kurdish Literature. His latest book, Aziz, was released in December 2024. A German edition of Dream Divided is to be published in September.
Ekinci has been repeatedly targeted for his writing and the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression. In a separate case in March 2022, he was found guilty of ‘making terrorist propaganda’ and handed a suspended sentence of one year, six months and 22 days in prison for eight tweets published on his Twitter account in 2013 and 2014. The tweets, none of which promoted or incited violence, for the most part related to the Newroz (New Year) celebrations in Diyarbakır, south-eastern Türkiye, and to the 2014 battle of Kobane in Syria. The case was pending before Türkiye’s Court of Cassation at the time of writing. In 2018, a smear campaign was launched online against Ekinci following the publication of his book Peygamberin Endişesi (The Prophet’s Concern).
For more information about PEN International’s work on Türkiye please see Identity on Trial: Persecution and Resistance, PEN International’s Case List 2025, which documents 138 cases of persecuted writers worldwide, including Ekinci.
Note to editors:
For further details, please contact Aurélia Dondo, Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International: [email protected]
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