Playwright Esber Yagmurdereli imprisoned in order to serve 23- year sentence

(WiPC/IFEX) – On 19 October 1997, playwright and lawyer Esber Yagmurdereli was arrested at his home in Istanbul by the Istanbul Security Directorate Public Order Department. He was taken to the Department’s offices in Gayrettepe, Istanbul where he was held for two days before eventually being transferred on 21 October to a prison in Cankiri. […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – On 19 October 1997, playwright and lawyer Esber
Yagmurdereli was arrested at his home in Istanbul by the Istanbul
Security Directorate Public Order Department. He was taken to the
Department’s offices in Gayrettepe, Istanbul where he was held
for two days before eventually being transferred on 21 October to
a prison in Cankiri.

**Updates IFEX alerts dated 19 December and 26 May 1995**

Yagmurdereli, who is blind, had been sentenced to a ten-month
prison term which was finalised on 16 September 1997. He had been
convicted for a speech made in September 1991 in which he accused
the Turkish authorities of human rights abuses against the Kurds
(see IFEX alerts). Yagmurdereli was previously arrested in 1978
and served with a life sentence on political charges during which
time he was elected an Honourary Member of several PEN centres.
He was subsequently freed under the terms of an April 1991
amnesty. However, his freedom was not unconditional and was
reliant on him not being convicted of another political offence.
If so, he would be required to serve the remainder of his
sentence. A life sentence is considered to be the equivalent of
36 years in prison. Yagmurdereli will therefore have to serve the
remaining 22 years and six months of his previous life sentence,
as well as the new ten-month prison term.

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His Excellency Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz

Basbakanlik

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Turkey

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Mr Emre Gonensay

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Insan Haklari Inceleme Komisyonu Baskani

TBMM, Ankara, Turkey

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