Court bans the book, publishing house notified 4 years later

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

With a ruling handed down on November 29, 2017, the Mersin 3rd Penal Judgeship of Peace has banned the book "Martyrs, Traitors and Patriots - Kurdistan after the Gulf War" penned by Sheri Laizer.

The Avesta Publishing House, which published the book in Turkish, was notified of the ban yesterday (March 2). The book will now be taken off the shelves and seized in line with this ruling.

When the same book was published in 2007, an investigation was launched; however, it ended in non-prosecution upon Avesta's objection.

On the other side, 15 books published by Avesta Publishing House have been banned in Turkey in the last 3 years.

'Space technology on the one side, bans on the other'

Avesta Publishing has made a statement about the ban on its social media account. The publishing house has said:

"Everyone can talk about the Kurds; Kurds themselves are prevented from talking, writing and producing knowledge about themselves and faced with legal sanctions. No ban, pressure or attempted prevention can turn us away from our path. We will keep working with the same determination."

The Publishers Cooperative of Turkey has also made a statement about the issue. It has briefly said, "We do not accept this mentality that is talking about developing space technology on the one side and still banning books on the other. We are determinedly on the side of freedom of thought and publication in the face of censorship and bans." (AÖ/SD)