Join PEN’s global day of action for imprisoned writers - Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2019

2019Day of the Imprisoned WriterEgyptUgandaTurkeySri LankaMexicoWriters at Risk

15 Nov

*This Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN campaigned on behalf of writers imprisoned in Mexico, Egypt, Uganda, Turkey and Sri Lanka.*

On 15 November, the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN International is calling for urgent international action to protect writers and journalists worldwide who are increasingly targeted by state and non-state actors simply for carrying out their work.

‘Be they poets, investigative journalists, short-story writers, lyricists – writers are under siege across the world. PEN’s focus cases for this year’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer highlight continued and sinister efforts from Mexico to Egypt to Turkey to silence writers and curtail freedom of expression. It is also a day of global mobilisation to stand in solidarity with writers who have had their freedom taken away for speaking truth to power. It is a day when we say to those who target writers and journalists that we will not let them be silenced.’

Each year, PEN highlights the cases of five persecuted writers – be they imprisoned, facing prosecution or otherwise at risk – that are emblematic of the type of threats and attacks faced by writers and journalists around the world. On this day, our Centres, members and supporters worldwide stand in solidarity with their colleagues and call on those responsible to end their persecution. You can join this campaign by taking action below.

This year, PEN is highlighting the cases of:

Celebrated writer, journalist and activist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro has faced continued harassment, death threats and attacks due to her investigative journalism and activism. Such attacks occur despite the fact that she was awarded precautionary protective measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2009, which the Mexican authorities have failed to adequately implement.
Following yet another attack on her home on 21 July 2019 in which two individuals broke into Cacho’s home, stole equipment and research materials, and killed her dogs, Cacho was forced to go into exile in order to ensure her own safety. To date, the authorities have not been able to identify the perpetrators of the break-in, nor have they executed arrest warrants related to her illegal detention and ill-treatment in 2005.
PEN International believes that Lydia Cacho Ribeiro is being targeted as a direct result of her investigative journalism, which she continues undeterred. PEN calls on the Mexican authorities to make good on its commitments to protect Cacho by providing her with adequate and appropriate security measures, as well as bringing the perpetrators of attacks against her to justice.
Take Action – Share on Twitter, Facebook and other social media using the hashtag #ImprisonedWriter
Please send appeals to the Mexican authorities urging them to:
- Protect writer and journalist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro by providing her with adequate and appropriate security measures;
- Execute all outstanding arrest warrants relating to her illegal detention and ill-treatment in 2005;
- Conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the July 2019 attack on her home and bring the perpetrators to justice;
- To urgently establish the essential conditions for the free exercise of journalism throughout the entire country, complying with the international agreements on human rights and freedom of expression signed and ratified by Mexico
Send appeals to:
President: Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Palacio Nacional, Presidencia de la República, Plaza de la Constitución S/N, Centro, Cuauhtémoc, 06066 Ciudad de México, CDMX, México. Twitter: @lopezobrador_
Secretary of the Interior: Olga Sánchez Cordero, Dirección: Edificio del Hemicicho Piso 4, oficina 21, col. Tabacalera, Alcaldía Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México, C.P. 06030., Email: olga.sanchezcordero@senado.gob.mx T. +52 55 55 53453000 ext. 3660, Twitter: @M_OlgaSCordero
Special Prosecutor for the Attention of Crimes Committed Against Freedom of Expression: Ricardo Sánchez Pérez del Pozo, (Fiscal Especial para la Atención de Delitos cometidos contra la Libertad de Expresión – FEADLE) Calle Ignacio L. Vallarta 13, Tercer Piso, Colonia Tabacalera, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06030, México Distrito Federal, Tel.: 01 (55) 53 46 42 38, Email: ricardo.sanchezperez@pgr.gob.mx; feadle@pgr.gob.mx
Attorney General of the Republic Avenida Insurgentes: Alejandro Gertz Manero, Número 20 de la Glorieta de Insurgentes, Col. Roma Norte, Ciudad de México. C.P. 06700, Tel: 01 (55) 53460000, Email: alejandro.gertz@pgr.gob.mx
Send copies to the Embassy of Mexico in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here: https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/mexico
We also encourage you to reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Mexico, calling on them to raise Lydia Cacho’s case in bilateral fora.
Publicity
We encourage PEN members to:
- Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Lydia Cacho;
- Share information about Lydia Cacho and your campaigning activities via social media;
- Organise public events, press conferences and demonstrations;
- Organise readings of Cacho’s work (see for example her contribution to PEN’s Write Against Impunity Anthology ‘I don’t want to lose my head’.
Please let us know about your activities and send us reports about the actions you take.
Social Media
Please use the hashtag #ImprisonedWriter.
Share information about Lydia Cacho and your campaigning activities for her via social media.
Suggested tweets:
On Day of the #ImprisonedWriter join PEN and take action for writer #LydiaCacho {insert RAN link}
I stand with #LydiaCacho and @pen_int on Day of the #ImprisonedWriter; #JournalismIsAlive
Background
Lydia Cacho Ribeiro has worked as a journalist for over 30 years, serving as editor, presenter, and columnist for various national and international media outlets, where she has reported on people trafficking, organised crime, drug trafficking, gender violence and corruption, among other topics. She has also published multiple books on similar issues, including: Los Demonios del Edén (The Demons of Eden), Muérdele el corazón (Bite the Heart), Esta boca es mía y tuya también (This Mouth is Mine and Yours Too), Memorias de una Infamia (Memoirs of a Scandal), Con mi hij@ no (Not with my daughter/son), Esclavas de poder: un viaje al corazón de la trata sexual de mujeres y niñas en el mundo (Slavery Inc. the Untold Story of International Sex Trafficking), En busca de Kayla (In Search of Kayla), Sexo y Amor en tiempos de crisis (Sex and Love in Times of Crisis), among others.
She is also the co-founder of the Network of Journalists from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean as well as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. In 2012, she contributed to PEN’s Write Against Impunity Campaign. Cacho has received multiple awards, among them the PEN/Oxfam Novib Freedom of Expression Award (2007), the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Award (2008), the 2008 Tucholsky prize from Swedish PEN, the 2009 One Humanity Award from Canadian PEN, and the PEN Pinter Prize for an International Writer of Courage (2010) from English PEN.
As a result of her work, she has regularly been the target of attacks, threats and intimidation.In 2005, following the publication of Los Demonios del Edén (The Demons of Eden) in which she implicated a number of influential businessmen and politicians in child abuse networks operating across Quintana Roo and Puebla states, Cacho was illegally arrested, detained and ill-treated before being subjected to a year-long criminal defamation lawsuit. She was cleared of all charges in 2007. On 31 July 2018, the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee held the State of Mexico responsible for the violation of Cacho’s human rights in relation to the case, more specifically for the torture to which she was subjected and for its failure of due diligence in the investigation.
Cacho has continued to face threats and intimidation attempts in retaliation for her writing and her search for justice. As a result, the IACHR granted her precautionary protective measures in 2009, which compelled the Mexican authorities to protect not only Cacho, but also her family and those she was working with. However, the Mexican authorities have failed to provide adequate protection measures to safeguard Cacho, and as a result she has been forced to flee the country on multiple occasions.
Most recently, following a break-in at her home in which her research materials were taken and her dogs poisoned, Cacho fled into exile, and has indicated that she will not return until those responsible for the attack are brought to justice. Cacho believes that this attack came in retaliation for the issuance of arrest warrants for the alleged masterminds – among them the former governor of Puebla State – behind her illegal detention and ill-treatment in 2005. While the arrest warrants have been issued, the individuals in question have yet to be apprehended, according to Article 19’s Office for Mexico and Central America.
On 25 September 2019, Cacho addressed the inadequacies of the Mexican government’s implementation of the precautionary measures at a meeting hosted by the IACHR and attended by the Mexican authorities. Cacho reportedly detailed the sporadic and cosmetic measures that have been availed to her, including furnishing her with mobile telephones, numbers to call in an emergency and the temporary allocation of bodyguards. Due to these insufficient actions, Cacho has felt forced to take charge of her own security, contracting her own bodyguards. According to Article 19’s Office for Mexico and Central America, the meeting concluded with the State’s commitment to provide all necessary measures to ensure Cacho’s safety, as well as an agreement to form an inter-agency working group to ensure the collaboration of all parties involved in her protection.
Shortly after the meeting, Cacho was informed of yet another attempt to intimidate her; individuals had been seen outside her home in Mexico, taking photographs of its surveillance cameras.
Freedom of expression in Mexico
Mexico continues to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to practice journalism. At least eight print journalists have been killed this year, while yet more broadcast journalists have also been killed. According to ARTICLE 19’s office for Mexico and Central America, 99 per cent of threats against journalists are unsolved. Impunity for violence against journalists emboldens perpetrators to carry out further attacks and thus perpetuates a vicious cycle.
Additionally, the repeated attempts to discredit Mexico’s journalists, columnists and writers by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as well as other public officials put freedom of expression, opinion and information at risk, not just in traditional media but also on social media.
Ugandan academic, writer and activist Dr. Stella Nyanzi is currently serving an 18-month sentence for ‘cyber harassment’, in relation to a poem she wrote on Facebook in September 2018 criticising Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni (and his mother). Dr. Nyanzi has served almost 11 months of her sentence.
Dr. Nyanzi has lodged an appeal against her conviction. The prosecution has also appealed against her acquittal on a charge of ‘offensive communication’, for which she was also originally charged. Both appeals were due to be heard on 10 October but were postponed as Dr. Nyanzi’s legal team protested the closed-door hearing of the appeal and cross-appeal. The case has now been re-allocated to another judge. In the meantime, Dr. Nyanzi remains in Luzira Women’s Prison, in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.
Nyanzi’s conviction under the Computer Misuse Act of 2011 is illustrative of the authorities’ increasing intolerance of criticism and takes place against a wider context of suppression of freedom of expression in Uganda, and in particular a crackdown on dissent online.
PEN believes Dr. Nyanzi’s imprisonment is a violation of her right to freedom of expression, as provided for under article 29 of the Ugandan Constitution, as well as under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uganda is a state party. PEN calls on the Ugandan authorities to release her from prison immediately and unconditionally and quash her conviction.
Take Action: Share on Facebook, Twitter and other social media
Send appeal letters to the Ugandan authorities:
- Expressing concern at the conviction and sentence imposed on Dr. Nyanzi, calling on them to release her immediately and unconditionally and overturn her conviction;
- Calling on them to repeal or amend the Computer Misuse Act (2011), which has been used to clamp down on dissent, to ensure full conformity with Uganda’s freedom of expression obligations under international law;
- Urging them to comply with their obligations to protect freedom of expression as enshrined in the Ugandan Constitution and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Uganda is a state party.
Send appeals to:
Mr. Mike Chibita: Director of Public Prosecutions Directorate of Public Prosecutions Workers House, Plot 1 Pilkington Road Kampala, Uganda, Email: mike.chibita@dpp.go.ug
Major General (rtd) Kahinda Otafiire: Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Bauman House, Plot 5, Parliament Avenue P. O. Box 7183 Kampala, Uganda, Fax: +25641254829, Email: info@justice.go.ug
Please copy your appeals to the Embassy of Uganda in your country. A list of embassies can be found here. We urge you to reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Uganda, calling on them to raise Dr. Nyanzi’s case in bilateral fora.
Please inform PEN International of any action you take and of any responses you receive.
Publicity
PEN members are encouraged to:
- Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Dr. Stella Nyanzi and freedom of expression in Uganda;
- Organise public events, press conferences and demonstrations;
Share information about Dr. Stella Nyanzi and your campaigning activities via social media using the hashtags #PushForStellaNyanzi, #FreeStellaNyanzi and #ImprisonedWriter
Social media
Please use the hashtag #ImprisonedWriter.
Suggested tweets:
On Day of the #ImprisonedWriter join PEN and take action for academic, writer and activist Dr. Stella Nyanzi;
I stand with #StellaNyanzi and #PENInternational on Day of the #ImprisonedWriter;
Drop the charges against #StellaNyanzi #ImprisonedWriter
Please let us know about your activities and send us a report about them by 15 December 2019 so that we can share them with other Centres.
Solidarity
Solidarity is a key component of our campaign. Consider adopting Dr. Stella Nyanzi as an Honorary Member of your Centre. Details of how to campaign for honorary members may be found in the Writers in Prison Committee Handbook, available here.
“Teach the nation poetry.
Handcuffs cannot contain the potency of poems.
Arrest warrants cannot disappear memorized verses
Poetry can never be detained in gaol.”
- Dr. Stella Nyanzi.
Dr. Nyanzi would welcome letters, cards and books from PEN members and supporters. If you would be interested in sending her something, please get in touch at: lianna.merner@pen-international.org
Please also consider holding a solidarity event where you mention and draw attention to the case of Dr. Nyanzi.
“…for those of us whose articulations criticise the government and its actors, those of us who question the status quo, those of us who expose the numerous everyday violations of citizens’ rights, those of us who resist and defy the system, their spaces for freedom of expression are shutting down fast. Gags, censors, intimidation, fines, threats, arrests, beatings, detention, raids, confiscation of materials, bans of our works, are increasing vices that the government metes out against us.”
- Dr. Nyanzi, speaking to PEN International in 2017.
Background
Dr. Nyanzi was charged in November 2018 with “cyber harassment” and “offensive communication” under sections 24 and 25 of the Computer Misuse Act, 2011; she was convicted of the first charge and acquitted of the second charge on 1 August 2019. She was sentenced the following day to 18 months in prison. As Dr. Nyanzi has already spent eleven months in prison, having been remanded into custody at her first trial hearing on 9 November 2018, she is set to serve out the remaining time. At her sentencing hearing on 2 August 2019, which Dr. Nyanzi attended via video link, she bared her breasts in protest and lamented the fact that the “offensive communication” charge was dropped, saying that she had wished to annoy the President.
Section 24 of the Computer Misuse Act makes it an offence to “mak[e] any request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene, lewd, lascivious or indecent”. Section 25 states:
“Any person who wilfully and repeatedly uses electronic communication to disturb or attempts to disturb the peace, quiet or right of privacy of any person with no purpose of legitimate communication whether or not a conversation ensues commits a misdemeanour and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty-four currency points (480,000) [around 130 USD] or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both.”
Both sections are vaguely worded and open to interpretation. The trial itself was marred by fair trial concerns: the American Bar Association, which monitored the trial, pointed to violations of the right to prepare a defence, and the abrupt closure of the defence case by the presiding magistrate.
Dr. Nyanzi was previously arrested and charged with the same offences in April 2017, also in connection with Facebook posts about President Museveni. According to her lawyer, this trial has been stayed pending the outcome of a petition launched in May 2017 by Dr. Nyanzi in Uganda’s Constitutional Court, challenging the validity of Uganda’s 1938 Mental Treatment Act. The petition was filed in response to the prosecution’s request for an investigation into her mental health.
In addition to attempts to force her to undergo a psychiatric investigation, Dr. Nyanzi has suffered a series of health problems while in detention; in late 2018, after her second arrest in November 2018, Dr. Nyanzi says she suffered a miscarriage in jail.
A medical anthropologist by training, Dr. Nyanzi’s scholarship lies at the intersections of culture, health, law, gender and sexualities. She was previously a research fellow at Makerere University’s Institute for Social Research, where she specialised in the study of sexuality in Africa, until the Institute terminated her contract in February 2019. In addition to publishing widely in the academia, she is an ardent writer on social media where she comments and debates about contemporary social-political occurrences, and she writes poetry, mainly on social media. She is an outspoken activist and a leading voice in the Ugandan women’s rights movement and campaigns for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex peoples. In 2017 she launched the #Pads4girlsUg Project, a campaign to raise money to buy and distribute sanitary pads for schoolgirls in Uganda.
Dr. Nyanzi is also a fierce, public critic of Uganda’s President Museveni. She is a practitioner of “radical rudeness,” a traditional Ugandan strategy for unsettling the powerful through the tactical use of public insult. Her use of language is often colourful and sometimes shocking: some of the messages she posted on Facebook imply that Uganda would have been better off if the president had died at birth and include strong, graphic descriptions of Museveni’s mother’s birth canal.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which oversees the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), has made clear that the ‘mere fact that forms of expression are considered to be insulting to a public figure is not sufficient to justify the imposition of penalties.’ Human rights bodies have also pointed out that Heads of State and public figures should tolerate a higher degree of criticism than ordinary citizens.
Violations of free expression in Uganda are rampant. Over the last year, media outlets deemed critical of the government have been investigated for allegedly breaching broadcasting standards, peaceful protest events have been cancelled, and journalists have been harassed while carrying out their work. Ugandan authorities have used colonial era laws such as criminal defamation to restrict dissent and have enacted new ones, such as the Computer Misuse Act of 2011, to clampdown on online criticism. PEN International opposes criminal defamation laws in all cases, and denounces the abuse of civil defamation laws to stifle free expression. Several recent measures to regulate social media have further restricted the space for online expression. A social media tax, passed in 2018, has reportedly led many Ugandans to abandon social media, and in August 2019, a week after Dr. Nyanzi’s conviction, the Uganda Communications Commission decided to charge ‘social media influencers’ a $20 fee and make them register with the state regulator.
Award-winning writer and poet, Shakthika Sathkumara, faces legal proceedings that could see him sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, should the Attorney General decide to press charges. On 1 April 2019, Sathkumara was detained pending a police investigation into allegations that his short story ‘Ardha’ (‘Half’) incited religious hatred. Sathkumara spent over 120 days in detention before his release on bail on 8 August 2019. His next hearing before a magistrate is scheduled for 10 December 2019 where he awaits the decision of the Attorney General as to whether formal charges will be filed against him.
Having reviewed the content of Sathkumara’s short story, PEN International does not believe that the story constitutes incitement to violence and thus concludes that he is being targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and calls on the Attorney General of Sri Lanka to drop the case.
Take Action: Share on Facebook, Twitter and other social media using the hashtag #ImprisonedWriter
Please send appeals urging the Attorney General of Sri Lanka to:
- Drop the legal proceedings against writer Shakthika Sathkumara;
- Take steps to safeguard freedom of expression in line with Article 14(1)(a) of the Sri Lankan Constitution and international standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sri Lanka is a State Party.
Send appeals to:
Attorney General: Mr. Dappula de Livera, Fax: +94 112 436421, Email: administration@attorneygeneral.gov.lk
Send copies to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here.
We also encourage you to reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Sri Lanka, calling on them to raise Shakthika Sathkumara’s case in bilateral fora.
Publicity
We encourage PEN members to continue to:
- Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Shakthika Sathkumara;
- Share information about Shakthika Sathkumara and your campaigning activities via social media; please use #ImprisonedWriter;
- Organise public events, press conferences and demonstrations;
- Promote Sathkumara’s writings (an English translation of his short story ‘Ardha’ is available here.
Please let PEN International know about your activities and send us reports about the actions you take.
Social Media:
Please use the hashtag #ImprisonedWriter.
Share information about Shakthika Sathkumara and your campaigning activities for him via social media.
Suggested tweets:
Drop the charges against #ShakthikaSathkumara #ImprisonedWriter
On Day of the #ImprisonedWriter join PEN and take action for writer #ShakthikaSathkumara #ImprisonedWriter {insert RAN link}
Background
Writer Shakthika Sathkumara, aged 33, is the author of seven short story collections, four poetry anthologies, a novel and at least 17 non-fiction books on literary theory, theatre and Buddhism, in addition to being a regular contributor to several literary supplements of various Sinhala-language newspapers. He has earned recognition at both provincial and national levels for his short stories and poetry anthologies. Sathkumara works as an Economic Development Officer at the Polgahawela Divisional Secretariat Office. He is currently on compulsory leave and has not been re-instituted.
On 1 April 2019, Sathkumara was arrested on suspicion that he had committed offences under Section 291B of the Penal Code and Article 3(1) of Sri Lanka’s ICCPR Act (2007), in connection with a short story that he had published on his Facebook page. The short story, ‘Ardha’ (‘Half’), due to be published as part of a collection later this year, has provoked hostility from Buddhist groups in Sri Lanka. The groups allege that the story is derogatory and defamatory to Buddhism owing to its indirect references to homosexuality within the Buddhist clergy and also due to a different rendering, told by the characters of the short story, of the legendary story of “Siddhartha” in Buddhist literature. Sathkumara maintains that he did not intend to insult Buddhism nor wound the feelings of any religious community in writing his short story, which is written in a post-modernist style.
Article 291 B of the Sri Lankan Penal Code states that ‘[w]hoever with the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class of persons, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, insults or attempts to insult the religion or the religious beliefs of that class, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both,’ while Article 3(1) Sri Lanka’s ICCPR Act (2007) states that ‘no person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence’ and makes any such crime a non-bailable offence which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
While freedom of expression may be limited for reasons of respect of the rights or reputations of others or for the protection of national security or of public order or of public health or morals, PEN holds that these limitations cannot legitimately be imposed on the expression of ideas about religion. While PEN stands against the incitement of violence or hatreds, having reviewed the content of Sathkumara’s story, PEN does not believe that the story constitutes incitement to violence.
At a hearing held on 25 June 2019, the police informed the court that their investigation has been concluded and the case has been referred to the Attorney General to render a decision as to whether to file charges against Sathkumara. At its subsequent hearing on 9 July 2019, police appearing before the Polgahawela Magistrate Court informed the court that they had not yet been informed of the Attorney General’s decision. Sathkumara was granted bail on 5 August 2019 by the Kurunegala High Court and was released from prison on 8 August 2019, after bail was duly furnished at Polgahawela Magistrate Court. Sathkumara is required to report to Polgahawela police on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. Sathkumara’s next hearing before Polgahawela Magistrate Court is on 10 December 2019 where he expects the Attorney General to confirm whether formal charges will be filed against him.
In a disappointing turn, the hearing of arguments of Sathkumara’s fundamental rights case – which was filed before the Supreme Court by his lawyers on 29 April 2019 in order to challenge the legal validity of the charges being laid against him under the Sri Lankan Constitution– was postponed until 28 July 2020.
News editor, reporter and poet Nedim Türfent is serving an eight-year-and-nine-month prison sentence on trumped-up terrorism charges following an unfair trial, during which 19 witnesses said they had been tortured into testifying against him. Arrested in May 2016 after covering military clashes in the predominantly Kurdish Southeast of Turkey, Nedim Türfent spent almost two years in solidarity confinement, treatment tantamount to torture under UN standards. Despite blatant violations of his right to a fair trial, he was sentenced to jail in December 2017; his verdict was upheld by a Regional Appeals Court in June 2018, and by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Cassation in October 2019. The Turkish Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights have yet to rule on his case. Determined to keep writing, Nedim Türfent started composing poetry in prison. PEN International believes that he is being held solely for peacefully expressing his views and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
TAKE ACTION
Please send appeals:
- Urging the Turkish authorities to release Nedim Türfent immediately and unconditionally;
- Calling on the Turkish authorities to end the prosecution and detention of journalists simply on the basis of the content of their writing or alleged affiliations, and to immediately release all those held in prison for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression.
Send appeals to:
Minister of Justice: Abdulhamit Gül, Ministry of Justice, Adalet Bakanlığı, 06659 Ankara, Turkey
Send copies to the Embassy of Turkey in your own country. Embassy addresses may be found here: https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/turkey .
Please reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic representatives in Turkey, calling on them to raise Nedim Türfent’s case in bilateral fora.
Please inform PEN of any action you take and of any responses you receive.
Publicity
We encourage PEN members to continue to:
- Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Nedim Türfent and freedom of expression in Turkey;
- Share information about Nedim Türfent and your campaigning activities via social media; please use #FreeNedim #FreeTurkeyMedia #ImprisonedWriter;
- Organise public events and poetry readings. His poem “Let my heart give life” is available here, translated into several languages.
Social Media: Please use the hashtags #FreeNedim #FreeTurkeyMedia #ImprisonedWriter
Share information about Nedim Türfent and your campaigning activities for him via social media.
Suggested tweets:
Release Nedim Türfent immediately and unconditionally #FreeNedim #FreeTurkeyMedia #ImprisonedWriter
On Day of the #ImprisonedWriter join PEN and take action for reporter and poet Nedim Türfent #FreeNedim #FreeTurkeyMedia #ImprisonedWriter {insert RAN link}
Solidarity
Nedim Turfent has repeatedly thanked the PEN community for its solidarity campaign:
‘Yours efforts are invaluable in being the voice of the voiceless. If I did not hereby reiterate my thanks to PEN’s efforts as the primary liberating locomotive of literature and arts, I would not be able to rest my head on my “pillow” on this iron bunkbed with ease. On this iron bunkbed, your solidarity will continue to be beside me, I believe this wholeheartedly.’ [Extract of a letter written in September 2019].
‘I want you to know that your letters, which have rendered iron curtains meaningless and ineffective, have filled my two-step-long cell with resistance, resolve and hope. At this time when I am still able to have access to this pencil and paper, I am amateurishly sharing my feelings of gratitude and humbleness, and I would be most delighted if you accept it.’ (Extract of a letter written in March 2019).
‘Dear PEN Members, we would like to express our eternal gratitude for every act of solidarity that you have carried out so far or you plan to in the future. While some people try to stifle our pens with a pile of grave earth, we will continue to hold them and produce. We would like to remind you that when the taste of solidarity is still within the reach of our hands, we will continue to write our reports, stories, novels and poems, line by line, letter by letter.’ (Extract of a letter written in December 2018).
We are very grateful to PEN members for their continued support. Please keep sending solidarity messages in English, German, Turkish or Kurdish, to:
Nedim Türfent, Van Yüksek Güvenlikli, Kapalı Ceza İnfaz Kurumu, Koğuş A-44, Van, Turkey
Please consider electing Nedim Türfent as an Honorary Member of your Centre.
Background
A news editor and reporter at the now-shuttered pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA), 29 year-old Nedim Türfent was arrested on 12 May 2016 after covering clashes between the Turkish army and the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in southeast Turkey. He had notably received the prestigious Musa Anter journalism award for a story covering a military operation in the Kurdish city of Yüksekova, where a group of soldiers reportedly handcuffed and pinned 50 villagers face down, yelling slurs such as ‘you will witness the power of the Turk’.
Nedim Türfent spent nearly two years in solidarity confinement, during which time he was transferred to several prisons. In a letter dated 8 May 2017, he reported harrowing detention conditions in his four-meter-long prison cell, where he was denied access to TV, radio, books or newspapers and forced to read ‘the back of detergent boxes’ to pass time. According to the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, prolonged solitary confinement amounts to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and must not be imposed under any circumstances.
Nedim Türfent was formally charged with ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ and ‘spreading terrorist propaganda’ 10 months after his arrest. Among the reasons listed in his indictment were his social media posts, his news reporting and 20 concealed witness testimonies. His first hearing was held in Hakkari on 14 June 2017, some 200km away from Van where he was being detained. Nedim Türfent was denied the right to appear physically in court seven times, and instead testified via the judicial conferencing system SEGBİS, experiencing severe connection and interpretation issues. Out of the 20 witnesses called, 19 retracted their statements, saying they had been extracted under torture. Despite such clear evidence of flagrant fair trial violations, Nedim Türfent was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison for ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ and ‘spreading terrorist propaganda’ on 15 December 2017.
The verdict was upheld by the Erzurum Regional Appeals Court on 19 June 2018 and by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Cassation in October 2019. Nedim Türfent’s lawyers filed an application before the Turkish Constitutional Court in July 2018, and the European Court of Human Rights on 4 February 2019; both have yet to rule on the case. While waiting for his appeal, Nedim Türfent spends his time studying Turkish, English and German and writing poetry.
PEN International launched a solidarity campaign with Nedim Türfent in December 2018, making him a priority case for the organisation. In February 2019, over 600 people, including scores of members from 25 PEN Centres, signed a global appeal calling for his immediate and unconditional release. Nedim Türfent featured in this year’s PEN World Poetry Day, with one of his poems translated into 18 languages.
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. At least 130 journalists remained behind bars at the time of writing. Although the situation has deteriorated dramatically since the 15 July 2016 coup attempt, Nedim Türfent’s case highlights the significance of the arrests made prior to the coup. Freedom of expression in Turkey has long been under attack and that as many as 30 journalists were in prison before July 2016. For more information about the state of freedom of expression in Turkey, and how the Turkish authorities continue their relentless crackdown on civic space, media freedom and dissenting voices, please click here.
Update - 16 September 2021
On 31 July 2021, Galal El-Behairy had completed his sentence of three years imprisonment in case number: 4/2018 administrative misdemeanour, the Military Prosecutor. However, prison authorities did not release him until 3 August, when he was transferred to Kafr Shukr police station, where he remained until 15 August. Between 16 August and 5 September, Galal El-Behairy was subjected to enforced disappearance at a National Security facility. On 5 September 2021, he appeared before Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) at the Fifth Settlement to face charges of “disseminating false news” and “joining a terrorist group” in case number:2000/2021 SSSP. The prosecutor ordered his pre-trial detention for 15 days on 5 September 2021 and continued to extend his detention.
El-Behiry’s family informed PEN International that his health condition has significantly deteriorated due to his imprisonment.
Egyptian authorities have expanded the use of pre-trial detention as a tool to silence critics.
Poet, lyricist and activist Galal El-Behairy is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for ‘insulting the military’ and ‘spreading false news’. He is being held in the notorious maximum-security prison Tora prison in Cairo. Nicknamed ‘Scorpion’ Prison, Tora has been condemned by scores of human rights organisations for its serious abuses, including denying inmates access to lawyers, their families, medical care and basic of hygiene products. Its infamous solitary confinement cells — which El-Behairy was subjected to — are cramped and airless. According to Galal El-Behairy’s lawyer has shown signs of severe torture, after his initial detention during which he was held incommunicado for a week. On 31st of July 2018, Cairo’s Military Court sentenced El-Behairy to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10 000 Egyptian pounds (560 USD). Following El-Behairy’s conviction, the publisher of his latest book of poetry, The Finest Women on Earth, terminated their contract with him and publicly stated that its agreement to publish the work did not imply its agreement with the book's content. Galal El-Behairy remains in prison, and is currently serving his sentence.
PEN International believes that the charges against Galal El-Behairy violate his right to peacefully express his views and calls on the Egyptian government for his immediate and unconditional release. PEN opposes criminal defamation laws in all cases and condemns the increasing use of ‘insulting the military’ and ‘disseminating false news’ as methods for stifling dissenting voices in Egypt.
Take Action: Share on Facebook, Twitter and other social media using the hashtag #FreeGalal #PrisonersofBalaha #ImprisonedWriter
Please send appeals to the Egyptian authorities:
- Protesting the continued imprisonment of poet Galal El-Behairy and calling for his immediate and unconditional release;
- Urging them to quash El-Behairy’s sentence and to end the judicial proceedings against him, as he is being held solely for her peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression;
- Demanding proper investigation into the allegations of torture of Galal El-Behairy;
- Condemning the apparent increasing use of military legislation and courts to prosecute writers in Egypt;
- Denouncing the trial of civilians in military courts, in accordance with Article 204 of the 2014 Constitution.
- Calling for the protection of the rights to freedom of expression in Egypt, including the release of all detainees held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Egypt is a State party.
Send appeals to:
President: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Office of the President, Al Ittihadia Palace, Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, Fax: +202 2 391 1441, Email: p.spokesman@op.gov.eg Moh_moussa@op.gov.eg Salutation: Your Excellency Twitter: @AlsisiOfficial
Minister of Justice: Mohamed Hossam Abdel Rahim, Ministry of Justice, Lazoghly Sq., Fax: +202 2 795 8103, Email: mjustice@moj.gov.egSalutation: Dear Minister
Minister of Defence: Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, Ministry of Defence, 23 El-Khalifa El-Maamoun st., El-Qobba Bridge, Al Waili, Cairo Governorate – Egypt, Fax: +202 2 4144248, Salutation: Dear Minister
Please send your letters via the Embassy of the Egypt in your country. Addresses may be found here.
Publicity
We encourage PEN members to continue to:
- Publish articles and opinion pieces in your national or local press highlighting the case of Galal El-Behairy;
- Share information about Galal El-Behairy and your campaigning activities via social media; please use #ImprisonedWriter;
- Organise public events, press conferences and demonstrations;
- Promote Galal El-Behairy’s writings (his poem “I have a date with tomorrow” is available here in English and Arabic.)
Please let us know about your activities and send us reports about the actions you take. This is really important as it means we can monitor the impact that our campaigning has in relation to Galal El-Behairy’s case.
Social Media
Please use the hashtag #ImprisonedWriter.
Share information about Galal El-Behairy and your campaigning activities for him via social media.
Suggested tweets:
Drop the charges against #GalalElBehairy #ImprisonedWriter #FreeGalal
On Day of the #ImprisonedWriter join PEN and take action for writer #GalalElBehairy #ImprisonedWriter {insert RAN link}
Background
On 26 February 2018, a month before Egypt’s presidential election, Egyptian artist Ramy Essam released the song Balaha, which featured lyrics written by Galal El-Behairy that criticizes the government and policies of Egypt. The song went viral almost immediately, with four million views. Two days after the release of Balaha, the Egyptian Minister of Culture Enas Abdel Dayem publicly denounced Galal El-Behairy on live television, specifically noting his book of poetry, The Finest Women on Earth. According to El-Behairy, the book focuses on the strength and perseverance of women in Egypt, who he feels face unique pressures while ultimately being responsible for the success of the men who make up the majority of the country’s workforce. In an addendum on the back cover of the book, he admonished the current public attitude in Egypt regarding terrorism and conflict plaguing the Arab World. A copy of his book is available online here.
Security forces arrested Galal El-Behairy on 3 March 2018 and held him incommunicado for a week until he appeared before the High State Security Prosecution on 10 March 2018. His lawyers reported that he showed signs of severe torture. The Prosecution subsequently ordered for him to undergo a forensic medical examination: the findings of the examination have not been made public, nor shared with his lawyer.
The title of his book The Finest Women on Earth, was interpreted by the prosecutor as alluding to Egyptian soldiers, who are referred to in a hadith by Prophet Muhammad as “the finest soldiers on earth”. The Arabic title of Galal El-Behairy‘s book uses the term niswan for "women," a word which has derogatory connotations in Egypt implying weakness and submissiveness.
However, Galal El-Behairy defended himself against accusations in a statement released from prison in May 2018: “This title does not refer in any way whatsoever to the Egyptian soldiers… It is rather a recognition of the value of women and of their good deeds in this world. Every soldier, man, fighter, scientist, and inventor is the result of a mother’s education, a wife’s embrace and a daughter’s innocence.”
Along with four other prisoners, Galal El-Behairy went on hunger strike from 24 January to 11 February 2019 to commemorate the 2011 Egyptian revolution and protest the injustice that remains in their country.
The publisher of The Finest Women on Earth, Dar Da'ad Publishing and Distribution, terminated their contract with El-Behairy and publicly stated that its agreement to publish the work did not imply its agreement with the book's content.