QUILLBLOG

The persecution of Pamuk continues

The Guardian has a news piece today about Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk canceling a scheduled trip to Germany in fear for his life. It seems that the Turkish author, who was set to make public appearances in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Stuttgart, has been publicly threatened by a man named Yasin Hayal, who police say has confessed to orchestrating the recent murder of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink.

[Hayal] issued what appeared to be a direct threat to the novelist. “Orhan Pamuk, be smart! Be smart!” he called to journalists as he was being taken to an Istanbul courtroom by police. Police are investigating whether his words constitute a threat to the novelist, something that could lead to Hayal’s prosecution.

Both Pamuk and Dink have been the focus of controversy in Turkey after talking openly about the mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century. They have been accused of the crime of “insulting Turkishness”.

Comments are closed.