Free Kurdish poet Ilhan Sami Çomak!  30 years in Prison is ENOUGH!!

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Ilhan Sami Çomak, Turkey's longest-serving student prisoner, internationally-regarded Kurdish poet, and honorary PEN member of 6 Centres, was DENIED his due release on parole after 30 years in prison by a unanimous decision of the parole board convened at Silivri Prison, Istanbul, on 21 August 2024.

BACKGROUND

Çomak was arrested while studying geography at Istanbul University in 1994. He was 22 years old. He reported being tortured for 19 days before signing a false confession to having set fires in forestry above Istanbul in the name of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Çomak was cleared of this bogus charge but found guilty in October 2000 by a State Security Court of the crime of separatism and sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that his right to a fair trial had been violated. 

Çomak was sentenced to life in prison - a term of 36 years - following a retrial that began in 2014.

Çomak was due for release on parole on 21 August 2024. But the parole board unanimously denied Çomak his freedom despite his declaration to dedicate his life to pursuing literature and poetry.

The board listed the four or five times that Çomak had supposedly spoken a political slogan or made 'unnecessary noise' over a period of 30 years in prison.  They determined that Çomak had not shown enough remorse for the crime of separatism, and his case should be reviewed in three months' time. 

LEARN MORE! Vist Ilhan's website: https://ilhancomak.wordpress.com

TAKE ACTION!

Sign below! Let's show how much support Ilhan has before the parole meeting in November!

With enough global support, we can help get Ilhan out of prison!

We, the members of PEN worldwide, we poets, authors, artists, and defenders of freedom around the world, and the signatories below, express our frustration and anguish at the cruel and baseless ongoing imprisonment of this highly regarded poet, whose work itself is a testament to his peaceful aspirations. We strongly oppose the extension of his detention! 

We, the undersigned, make it known that we will be monitoring the progress of the appeal of Çomak's lawyers against the parole board decision of 20 August 2024 and hope to see the immediate overturning of this decision and the swift return of his FREEDOM to Ilhan Sami Çomak.

We, the undersigned, call upon the Ministry of Justice in Turkey to urgently investigate the appointment of a new parole board member one week before Ilhan's due release and this baseless, arbitrary, and cruel decision. Ilhan told the board his only wish was to dedicate what is left of his life to the pursuit of literature and poetry—let him out, set him free!

İlhan Sami Çomak has been denied his freedom for his entire adult life to date. He must not be detained a day further!

ACT NOW! Freedom for Ilhan Sami Çomak!