Mehmet Hasan Altan (born 11 January 1953) is a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

academic economist, journalist, and author of over 25 books. Describing himself as a "Marxist-liberal", he is the originator of the term "Second Republic", arguing that Turkey needs to reconstitute its republic as a true democracy. He is a strong supporter of the

Accession of Turkey to the European Union Turkey is negotiating its accession to the European Union (EU) as a member state, following its application to become a full member of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the EU, on 14 April 1987. After the ten founding ...

Background

He was born 1953 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

to the journalist and writer

Çetin Altan Çetin Altan (22 June 1927 – 22 October 2015) was a Turkish writer, journalist, and a member of parliament. He was considered one of the finest writers in the modern Turkish language of the late 20th century. Early years Çetin Altan was ...

as the second of two sons. His brother

Ahmet Altan Ahmet Hüsrev Altan (born 2 March 1950) is a Turkish journalist and author. A working journalist for more than twenty years, he has served in all stages of the profession, from being a night shift reporter to editor in chief in various newspape ...

is also a journalist and writer. Altan studied at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

from 1979 to 1984, completing masters and doctoral degrees in economics.'' Hurriyet Daily News'', 18 April 2009
Provocative politics as the family business
/ref>

Career

Altan has worked faculty of economics of the

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 ...

since 1986 becoming an associate professor in 1987 and a full professor in 1993. He was dismissed in the aftermath of the failed coup d'état attempt of 2016 and wasn't re-hired since. From 1987 to November 2006 he contributed to ''

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

'', before moving to ''

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

'', becoming editor-in-chief. He left ''Star'' in January 2012.pgchallenges.org
Prof. Dr. Mehmet ALTAN
/ref> He has been dismissed from his paper because of government's pressures on media.

Prosecution

On 10 September 2016, Altan was arrested in the wake of the coup d'état attempt. He was later indicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and acting on behalf of a terrorist organization. The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled on 11 January 2018 that his rights as a journalist had been violated, but his subsequent application for release was rejected by Istanbul

Assize Court The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

. On 16 February 2018 he was sentenced to life in prison. In response to this, on 20 March 2018, 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 ...

(ECHR) made a ruling that determined that his rights under the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

had been violated, namely Article, namely Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) and Article 10 (

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

). He was sentenced to life in prison for terror related charges in February 2018 because the day before the Turkish coup d`état attempt 2016, according to Reuters he said on television: “Whatever the developments were that led to military coups in Turkey, by making the same decisions, Erdogan is paving the same path”. On 27 June 2018 he was released pending trial.

Views

He is the creator of the term "Second Republic", which advocates for the re-founding of Turkey with democracy. He criticized

Robert Spano Robert Spano ( ; born 7 May 1961, Conneaut, Ohio) is an American conductorDavidson, Justin. "CLASSICAL MUSIC: Looking for Magic: Mixing visuals and language into a performance is just part of conductor Robert Spano's pursuit of orchestral risk" ...

, the president of the ECHR, for his acceptance of a honorary Doctorate by the Istanbul University form the same people who have dismissed him in 2016.

Publications

* ''Kanatlı Karınca'', Nisan Yayınları 1985 *''Süperler ve Türkiye'', AFA Yayınları 1986 *''Marks'tan Sevgilerle'', Güneş Yayınları 1989 *''Darbelerin Ekonomisi'' (1990) *''Kapitalizm bu köye uğramadı'' *''Kurtler: Seytan Soyundan Mi?'' *''İkinci Cumhuriyet'in Yol Hikayesi'' *''Puslu Demokrasi : Ergenekon Güncesi'' *''Marksist Liberal'' *''Kent Dindarlığı'' *
Metropolis İslam
',

Timas Publishing Group Timas Publishing Group ( Turkish: ''Timaş Yayınları'') is a publishing group based in Istanbul, Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country l ...

References

External links

www.mehmetaltan.com

'I Want the EU because it has been Transforming Us'
interview in ''

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

'', 13 December 2004
Intellectual Mehmet Altan says EU derailment will harm Turkish public
interview in ''

'', 10 January 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Altan, Mehmet 1953 births Living people Turkish journalists Turkish columnists People from Ankara Istanbul University faculty Turkish economists Sabah (newspaper) people Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent