HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN TURKEY TO WRITE COLUMN FOR WEEKLY

human-rights-activist-in-turkey-to-write-column-fo r-weekly/
October 18, 2009

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)–The Armenian Weekly recently welcomed
Eren Keskin, a prominent Kurdish activist in Turkey, as its newest
columnist. Keskin will share her thoughts on human rights and
minorities in Turkey. Her first column will appear in the Oct. 27
issue.

Keskin is the second columnist to write for the Weekly from Turkey.

Last year, journalist and human rights activist Ayse Gunaysu began
writing her bi-weekly columns, which are some of the most widely
anticipated and read in the paper.

Eren Keskin is vice-president of the Turkish Human Rights Association
(Ä°HD) and former president of its Istanbul branch. She has been
repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arrested by Turkish authorities
for exposing and speaking out against the abuses suffered by women in
Turkish prisons, and co-founded the project "Legal Aid for Women Who
Were Raped or Otherwise Sexually Abused by National Security Forces."

In 1995, Keskin was imprisoned for her human rights activities and
was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In
2004, she received the prestigious Aachen Peace Award "for her
courageous efforts and activities for human rights." And in 2005,
she was awarded the Esslingen-based Theodor Haecker Prize for Civic
Courage and Political Integrity. In March 2006, Keskin was sentenced
to 10 months’ imprisonment for insulting the Turkish military; the
sentence was later converted to a fine of 6,000 New Turkish Liras,
which she refused to pay.

The Armenian Weekly welcomes Keskin into its family of columnists.