Political repression and curtailed freedoms have earned Turkey a troubling reputation abroad in recent years. For generations of western artists and intellectuals in the 20th century, though, the country was a haven, and many congregated in Istanbul to lead a lifestyle of freedom, far from the Cold War repression of their own countries.
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Political repression and curtailed freedoms have earned Turkey a troubling reputation abroad in recent years. For generations of western artists and intellectuals in the 20th century, though, the country was a haven, and many congregated in Istanbul to lead a lifestyle of freedom, far from the Cold War repression of their own countries.
Italian journalist: Ahmet Altan is a man who is loyal to democracy
Stories from Turkey
18 minutes
6 years ago
Italian journalist: Ahmet Altan is a man who is loyal to democracy
Marco Ansaldo, the Istanbul-based senior correspondent for the Italian daily La Repubblica, shares with Ahval his impressions from his meeting with jailed author and journalist Ahmet Altan during Altan’s temporary release this month. The 69-year-old former editor-in-chief of the now defunct Taraf daily had been in jail since his arrest months after a failed coup attempt in 2016, which the Turkish government accuses a religious group led by the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen of orchestrating. The prominent journalist and author was re-arrested a week after a court ruled that he should be released from prison during his retrial. Rights group Article 19 said that imprisoning Altan again shortly after releasing amounted to psychological torture.
Stories from Turkey
Political repression and curtailed freedoms have earned Turkey a troubling reputation abroad in recent years. For generations of western artists and intellectuals in the 20th century, though, the country was a haven, and many congregated in Istanbul to lead a lifestyle of freedom, far from the Cold War repression of their own countries.
