Ayşe Nur Zarakolu (née Sarısözen) (9 May 1946 – 28 January 2002) was a Turkish

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

advocate. She was co-founder, with her husband

Ragıp Zarakolu Ragıp Zarakolu (born 1948) is a Turkish human rights activist and publisher who has long faced legal harassment for publishing books on controversial subjects in Turkey, especially on minority and human rights in Turkey. Biography Ragıp Zar ...

, of notable Turkish publishing house Belge and, in the 1980s, became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Zarakolu's publications brought her into frequent conflict with Turkish press laws; in 1997, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' identified Zarakolu as "one of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's

press laws Press laws are the laws concerning the licensing of books and the liberty of expression in all products of the printing-press, especially newspapers . The liberty of the press has always been regarded by political writers as of supreme importance. ' ...

". Issues Zarakolu helped publicize in Turkey include the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

and

human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey Kurds have had a long history of discrimination perpetrated against them by the Turkish government. Massacres have periodically occurred against the Kurds since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Among the most significant is the ...

. Imprisoned multiple times for her publications, she was designated a prisoner of conscience by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and her legacy continued to face legal challenge in Turkey after her death. She has received multiple awards and honors for her work and the

Human Rights Association of Turkey The Human Rights Association ( tr, İnsan Hakları Derneği, İHD) is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara. Establishment The İHD's origins can be traced to the victims of the purges in the ...

( tr, İnsan Hakları Derneği İHD) bestows the Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought prize in her honor.

Biography

She was born Ayşe Nur Sarısözen on 9 May 1946 in

Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes Rive ...

. A sociologist by education, she entered publishing in 1968 before moving to

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

in 1970 as head librarian at the Institute of Financial Studies. Zarakolu wed Ragıp Zarakolu and mothered two children. Before her death of cancer in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

on 28 January 2002, Zarakolu became a notable author, publisher, and human rights advocate. In 1976 or 1977, Zarakolu and her husband launched a publishing house, Belge (translated "The Document"), which published books on history and politics, as well as poetry, and in the 1980s, she also became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay; according to ''The Independent'', she was "the first woman in Turkey" to hold such a position. In 1998, she helped found the İHD.

Legal battles

While ''The Independent'' suggested that the books published by Belge "in any other country would hardly be controversial", Zarakolu was subject to prosecution in Turkey for her publications, including lengthy imprisonments and fines, and Belge was fire-bombed in 1995. According to ''The New York Times'', which in 1997 identified Zarakolu as "one of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's press laws", books she published "denounce the Government's war against Kurdish guerrillas, accuse the security forces of involvement with death squads and document dmass killings of Armenians in the early years of the century." İHD characterized Zarakolu in 2006 as "one of the vanguards of the fight for the freedom of thought and expression." In press release, the organization noted that not only had she been willing to publish

İsmail Beşikçi İsmail Beşikçi (born 1939 in İskilip, Turkey) is a Turkish sociologist, philosopher, revolutionary, and writer. He is a PEN Honorary Member. He has served 17 years in prison on propaganda charges stemming from his writings about the Kurdish popu ...

's ''Kurdistan, an Inter-States Colony'' in defiance of a ban on the word "Kurd", but that she had "started debate on the question of "Armenian Genocide" which still remains as a taboo in Turkey." She focused attention to the situations and histories of

Kurds in Turkey The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Turkey. According to various estimates, they compose between 15% and 20% of the population of Turkey.; ; Sandra Mackey , “The reckoning: Iraq and the legacy of Saddam”, W.W. Norton and Company, ...

, Armenians in Turkey and

Greeks in Turkey ) constitute a small population of Greek and Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox Christians who mostly live in Istanbul, as well as on the two islands of the western entrance to the Dardanelles: Imbros and Tenedos ( tr, Gökçeada and ''Bozcaada''). Th ...

. Some specific publications by Belge in Turkey that were subjects of controversy include the poems of

Mehdi Zana Mehdi Zana (born 20 December 1940 in Silvan) is an author and former Kurdish politician from Turkey. At: "KORT BIOGRAFI ÖVER FÖRFATTAREN OCH POLITIKERN MEHDI ZANA" He is prominent Kurdish political activist a former Mayor of Diyarbakır. Followi ...

, ''Les Arméniens: histoire d'un génocide'' (''The Armenians: history of a genocide'') by

Yves Ternon Yves Ternon (; born 1932 in Saint-Mandé) is a French physician and medical historian, as well as an author of historical books about the Jewish Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. He is professor of the history of medicine at University Paris IV ...

, ''

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh ''The Forty Days of Musa Dagh'' (german: Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh) is a 1933 novel by Austrian- Bohemian writer Franz Werfel based on events that took place in 1915, during the second year of World War I and at the beginning of the Armenian ...

'' by

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and Poetry, poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''Th ...

, several books by

, and the essays of

Lissy Schmidt Lissy Schmidt (ca. 1959 – 3 April 1994), also known by her pseudonyms Milena Ergen and Petra Sert, was a German journalist who worked for the Agence France Presse, '' Frankfurter Rundschau'' (Frankfurt), and ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (Berlin). She an ...

, a German journalist who had died while covering conditions in Iraqi Kurdistan. The ''

Armenian Reporter Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

'' indicated in 2005 that the number of times Zarakolu was arrested was "more than 30." Imprisoned for her publications four times, Zarakolu was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In a 2008 interview, her husband indicated that, during her imprisonment, Zarakolu had been tortured. In a letter dated 2001, Zarakolu expressed her belief that "The way to prevent yet more genocides, yet more tragedies from happening is through the communal experience of expressing heartfelt repentance for the shame of what has gone before", also indicating that "As far as I am concerned, I have done my duty. I have done something that everyone should do.... And I shall continue to do so, right through to that supreme moment." After her death in 2002, Zarakolu faced additional charges for publishing the books ''

Pontos Kültürü ''Pontos Kültürü'' or ''Pontos Culture'' is a 1996 book by Turkish author Ömer Asan about the pontic Greek Muslims of Trabzon Province. ''Pontos Kültürü'' documents Asan's ethnographic fieldwork in his native village Çoruk (Τσορούκ ...

'' by

Ömer Asan Ömer Şükrü Asan (born May 28, 1961) is a Turkish folklorist, photographer and writer. In 2002, he was charged with allegations that he violated Article 8 of Turkey's Anti-Terror Law by "propagandating separatism" for his book '' Pontos Kül ...

and ''The Song of Liberty'' by

Hüseyin Turhallı Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "h ...

, but charges were eventually dropped. Her son, Deniz Zarakolu, was charged for "inciting revenge or hatred, which could cause people to become dangerous for each other" as a result of the speech he made at her funeral, but he was later acquitted.

Honors

Zarakolu received multiple recognitions from the Turkish Publishers' Association,

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

and

International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

. In 1998, she was honored by the International Publishers Association with an inaugural International Freedom to Publish Award at the Frankfurt Book Fair; however, Zarakolu's

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

had been confiscated by Turkish officials years before and she was not permitted to attend. Received the 1997

PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Awards presented by the PEN American Center (today PEN America) that are no longer active. The awards are among many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN in over 145 PEN centres around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been ch ...

Legacy

The İHD bestows in her memory the "Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought" prize. In 2004, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

condemned Turkey for its conviction of Zarakolu in connection to her publication of a book detailing the story of Ferhat Tepe, a murdered journalist. In 2007, the metropolitan municipality of

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

in southeastern Turkey named the "Ayşenur Zarakolu Free Women's Park Forest" on Dicle Kent Boulevard in her honor. However, they were required to rename the park when the province governor's office objected to the name. The matter was brought before the Regional Administrative Court, which forbid the naming on the grounds that Zarakolu "supported separatist ideas and spread terrorist propaganda both in her own books and in the books she published", though her husband later noted that both the article under which she was convicted and the court that convicted her have been abolished.

Biography

Legal battles

Honors

Legacy

References

Further reading