Posted on November 7, 2019 at 7:56 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

A Turkish author who wrote a memoir about a life sentence in jail has been released.

Ahmet Altan, whose I Will Never See the World Again was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, was imprisoned in 2016 and received a life sentence in 2018 for his alleged support of a coup.

But on Monday, a court ordered Altan and a fellow imprisoned writer to be released immediately, based on the time they had already served.

Representatives of the organization PEN International, the worldwide writers' association, celebrated Altan’s release but maintained their concern that Altan had been convicted of “bogus terrorism charges” and that other writers and journalists remained imprisoned.

You can read more about Altan’s release and PEN’s reaction in the Guardian.

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Comments
Thank God Ahmet has been released. Now I hope that the other thousands of prisoners will also be let go.
Christine Zuck-Jacobson | 11/7/19 at 1:03 PM
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