Türkiye: Baseless conviction of writer and Kurdish PEN member Gulgeş Deryaspî must be overturned

Gulgeş Deryaspî

Update #1 to RAN 02/2021

It has been almost two years since Kurdish PEN member and writer Gulgeş Deryaspî was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’. Her appeal before the Court of Cassation of Türkiye [Turkey] is still pending. PEN International believes that Gulgeş Deryaspî is being targeted for her writings promoting Kurdish language and culture and calls once again for her conviction to be overturned.

TAKE ACTION: Please send appeals to the authorities of Türkiye:

• Calling for the conviction of Gulgeş Deryaspî to be overturned;

• Urging 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 for peacefully expressing their views to be immediately released;

• Asking them to respect the right of Kurdish people to use and promote their own language and culture.

Send appeals to:

Bekir Bozdağ

Role: Minister of Justice

Address: Ministry of Justice, Adalet Bakanlığı, 06659 Ankara, Türkiye

Contact: info@adalet.gov.tr

Send copies to the Embassy of Türkiye in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here: https://cd.mfa.gov.tr/mission/mission-list?clickedId=3.

Please reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Türkiye, calling on them to raise Gulgeş Deryaspî’s case in bilateral fora.

***Please send appeals immediately. Check with PEN International if sending appeals after 20 December 2022. ***

Please inform PEN International of any action you take and any responses you receive. Messages can be sent to Aurélia Dondo, Europe Programme Coordinator: Aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org

Publicity

PEN members are encouraged to:

• Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Gulgeş Deryaspî and freedom of expression in Türkiye;

• Share information about Gulgeş Deryaspî and your campaigning activities via social media.

Please keep us informed of your activities.

Background

Born in 1978, Gulgeç Akdeniz – pen name Gulgeş Deryaspî – studied Kurdish Language and Culture at Muş University, eastern Türkiye. She published three novels in Kurdish. Tariya Bi Tav (Darkness with Sunshine), published in 2010, portrays life in Kurdish villages and explores the concept of alienation. Xezal (Gazelle), published in 2013, depicts the struggle of a woman standing against patriarchy and state oppression, while Ez Ne Ezim (I am not who I am), published in 2018, explores existential and philosophical questions. She has been a member of Kurdish PEN since 2013.

Gulgeş Deryaspî was taken into custody on 25 July 2019 following simultaneous raids across Bitlis province, eastern Türkiye, during which eight other individuals were also detained. She was formally charged with ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ under Article 314/2 of Türkiye’s Penal Code on 29 July 2019 and sent to Bitlis E Type Closed Prison. She denies any wrongdoing. The first hearing was held on 4 February 2020; she was released from pre-trial detention on 30 March 2020 in an effort by the Turkish authorities to stem breakouts of COVID-19 in the country’s overcrowded jails. Deryaspî was sentenced to six years and three months in prison on 3 December 2020. Her lawyers officially lodged an appeal on 28 February 2021. A verdict on her appeal is still pending.

Kurdish culture and language remain harshly repressed in Türkiye, where many Kurdish journalists are languishing behind bars on trumped-up terrorism charges, including poet, journalist, and honorary PEN member Nedim Türfent, who is serving an eight-year-and-nine-month prison sentence. Writer and former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş has been held since November 2016, despite the European Court of Human Rights twice ruling for his immediate release. He faces a life sentence without parole.

Update #1 to RAN 02/2021. Gulgeş Deryaspî notably featured in PEN International’s International Women’s Day 2022 and its 2021 Case List. For more information about the state of freedom of expression in Türkiye – please click here.

For further details contact Aurélia Dondo at PEN International, Koops Mill, 162-164 Abbey Street, London, SE1 2AN, UK Tel: +44 (0) 20 7405 0338 Fax +44 (0) 20 7405 0339 e-mail: Aurelia.dondo@pen-international.org