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Journalist Şahin Alpay, who had been in prison for 20 months, was released from Silivri Prison at night on Friday (March 16). Alpay was greeted by his wife, children and granddaughter.
After the second Constitutional Court decision, ruling that his rights have been violated, the first-level court, İstanbul 13th Heavy Penal Court unanimously ruled that Alpay shall be released on house arrest.
Released from Silivri Penal Institution at night, Alpay was taken out of the prison where he was arrested with a paddy wagon and brought to Kınalı toll booths in Silivri.
After his release, Alpay made the following statement:
"I am really happy that I can finally rejoin with my family but I cannot say that I have regained my freedom. 20 months have passed with serious difficulties. When I get out of prison, I leave thousands of people behind who have nothing to do with either terrorism or the coup. Unless these people are also free, I do not think that Turkey can be free."
What happened?
Şahin Alpay was detained in the first detention wave on July 27, 2016 following the July 15 coup attempt. He was arrested since then.
On January 11, 2018, in response to their individual applications, the Constitutional Court ruled that the rights of jailed journalists Şahin Alpay, Mehmet Altan and Turhan Günay had been violated and issued a decision of release. About Şahin Alpay and Mehmet Altan, for whom the Constitutional Court previously ruled that their "right to liberty and security" as well as their "freedom of press and expression" had been violated, the 13th and 26th Heavy Penal Courts respectively ruled that their imprisonment shall continue.
The attorneys of Altan and Şahin appealed again to the Constitutional Court on the ground that "their rights to freedom and security had been violated due to the failure to implement the verdict of violation issued by the Constitutional Court." The Constitutional Court discussed the new application of Şahin Alpay on March 16 and again ruled that the rights of Alpay had been violated.
About Şahin Alpay
Alpay is a writer, political scientist and journalist.
Political scientist, journalist-author. He was born in Ayvalık / Balıkesir on the April 18, 1944. He completed his primary education in Nişantaşı Nilüfer Hatun Primary School, secondary education in English Boys School and high school in Robert College.
After his graduation from Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences (1967) he became a research assistant in the Faculty of Education of the same university (1968-71). He continued this duty in Sweden Stockholm University where he went for PhD studies (1972-81). He completed a PhD program in Political Science (1981).
When he returned he worked as an editor and author in newspapers of Cumhuriyet (1982-92), Sabah (1993-94), Milliyet (1994-2001) and Zaman. In the same time he gave lessons in Turkey in Anadolu and Boğaziçi Universities and abroad in Princeton University in the USA. Starting from 2001, he became an academic member at the Department of Political Sciences and International Relations in Bahçeşehir University.
Between the years 1999 - 2002 he presented a weekly interview program called Entelektüe lBakış in CNN Türk channel. In 2006 he started to present the program Akıl Defteri in Mehtap TV. He continued writing columns in Zaman newspaper.
WORKS: Turkar i Stockholm: En Studie av Invandrare, Samhalle och Politik (Turks in Stockholm: A Social and Political Research about Immigrants, 1980), SHP-DSP Nerede Birleşiyor Nerede Ayrılıyor (1986), 2000 Yılında Türkiye (1991), Türkiye'nin Tanıkları – İçerden Bakanlar (2002), Türkiye'ninTanıkları - DışardanBakanlar(2003).
TRANSLATIONS (from Astrid Lindgren): Şamatalı Köy (1990), Pippi Uzunçorap Korsan (1991). (EA/SD)
