Justice began for “funding” against a publishing house that paid a fee to two of its associates who work from their prison cell, a representative told AFP today.
The publishing house Kor Kitap announced that the person legally responsible for it was detained for four days and then placed under house arrest and under judicial control as part of the investigation.
Who are the “terrorists”?
Justice accuses the publishing house of paying royalties to Tonguchs Ok and Necip Baisal, two of its associates serving life sentences for “terrorism” who work as writers, editors and translators for Kor Kitap, according to a spokesman for the publishing house.
These two, who have been imprisoned since the late 1990s for various actions they had committed in the name of a small far-left organization called Devrimci Yol (DEV-YOL, which means Revolutionary Path) which had been designated as terrorist by Ankara, are described as “political prisoners” by their employer, who emphasizes that the money he pays them is only used to “buy products from prison canteen”.
Reactions to the survey
“We will not tolerate any attempt to imprison thought and culture,” Kor Kitap reacted to X, calling for “the immediate cancellation of this illegal decision.”
The Turkish Publishers Association also called X this decision “extremely worrying for the publishing world and freedom of expression.”
“It is legitimate, within the framework of international legal principles, constitutional rights and publishing ethics, for Tonguchs Ok and Necip Baisal to receive remuneration for the copyright of their works, even in prison,” the Union underlined.
