ANSA English Media Service, Italy
April 3, 2018 Tuesday 11:28 AM CET
Ahmet's new book out in Italy
Sentenced to life in prison, novelist defends himself
(ANSAmed) – ROME, APRIL 3 – Turkish writer and journalist Ahmet Altan, whose new book 'Tre manifesti per la liberta' (three posters for freedom) published in Italy by E/O is coming out on April 11, says he will ''judge those who, in cold blood, have killed the justice system allowing the arrest of thousands of innocent citizens''. ''I don't have the power to punish people nor to imprison them and, in any event, I would never like to have such a power. But I have the power to unveil the homicide, to identify the killer, to show the bloodied weapons used for this insidious murder and to talk about the crimes that have been committed''.
Altan was sentenced to life in prison last February on charges that he backed the failed coup on July 15, 2016.
The three corrosive texts written by the author – known for his battles in defense of the Kurdish minority, the cause of Armenians victims of genocide and freedom of _expression_ – has long been detained. In his three defensive memories, Altan hails the ideas of justice, honesty and legality and ridicules not only the charges against him but the violent and corrupt system that is taking his country towards dictatorship, overturning the situation in which he is a defendant.
Sales from the book, after production and distribution costs are paid, will entirely go to the author so that he can finance his defense team and fight for his freedom. He has received the support of 51 Nobel laureates who in a letter sent to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (with which the book opens) are asking for Altan's release and to re-establish the rule of law in Turkey.