Press Statement

Our translator, writer, and editor Tonguç Ok and Necip Baysal, who are currently deprived of their liberty, receive royalty payments from our publishing house in return for their intellectual and creative work. These lawful payments are used solely for purchases made at the prison canteen. Nevertheless, such expenditures are now being arbitrarily framed as constituting “terrorist activity.”

An investigation has been initiated against the publishing house representative who processed these royalty payments, resulting in four days of police custody followed by the imposition of house arrest. We call for the immediate annulment of this unlawful and disproportionate measure and invite readers and the wider public to stand in solidarity.

Royalty payments to writers, translators, and editors who continue to exercise their right to creative expression while in detention do not constitute terrorist financing. We reject all attempts to criminalize thought, culture, and intellectual production.

Kor Kitap

Statement

Royalty payments are a lawful and fundamental right of authors

As the Publishers Association of Turkey, we affirm our full solidarity with our colleagues and call for an end to the persistent and systematic criminalization of publishing activities –such as writing, drawing, speaking, and reading– as well as books themselves.

We learned from a public statement issued today by our member Kor Kitap that it continues to pay royalties to its translators, writers, and editors who are currently incarcerated, including recipients of our Association’s 2014 Freedom of Thought and Expression Award, Tonguç Ok and Necip Baysal. These legitimate payments have nevertheless been recharacterized as “terrorist financing,” leading to criminal proceedings against a publishing house representative, including detention and the imposition of house arrest. This development raises serious concerns with regard to freedom of expression, proportionality, and the rule of law.

Copyright and authors’ rights are protected under domestic law and international conventions to which Turkey is a party. Royalty payments are lawful, transparent, and regulated transactions. Pursuant to Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works, authors retain full ownership of their works and the right to remuneration, irrespective of their personal circumstances or legal status. Payments made through banking and official channels are fully documented and subject to oversight.

Purchases made through prison canteens take place under strict administrative supervision and control. It is therefore legally untenable to claim that such expenditures constitute terrorist financing. Treating state-controlled and state-monitored transactions as criminal evidence violates the principle of legal certainty and undermines trust in the rule of law.

The right of Tonguç Ok and Necip Baysal to receive remuneration for works produced even under conditions of detention is protected by universal human-rights standards, constitutional guarantees, and internationally recognized publishing ethics.

As the Publishers Association of Turkey, we demand the immediate lifting of the house-arrest measure imposed on the publishing house representative, an end to the misuse of anti-terror legislation against lawful cultural activity, and the cessation of all pressure on freedom of thought and expression. We will continue to monitor this process closely.

Respectfully,

Publishers Association of Turkey

Statement

Writing, publishing, editing, and translation constitute the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression and are not crimes. No criminal liability can be derived from royalty payments or the ordinary functioning of publishing activities. We stand firmly with our member Kor Kitap in this legal and human-rights-based struggle.

Publishers’ Cooperative – YAYKOOP

Categories: International, Turkey