Book sent to May 1 detainee withheld for being 'objectionable'

B.T., who was part of the group attempting to march from Saraçhane to Taksim on May 1, was detained and arrested 2 days after the protest. The book "Memories from the Front", written by Orhan Savaşçı and published by Ayrıntı Yayınları, which was brought by his family for B.T. to read in prison, was deemed 'objectionable' by the prison administration and returned to his family, despite not being a banned book.

According to Okan Yücel from Birgün; the book "Memories from the Front" by Orhan Savaşçı, brought by his family to B.T., who was arrested and sent to prison following the May 1 protests, was found 'objectionable' by the prison administration despite not being among the 'banned books'.

The prison administration, which examines the books brought for B.T., found the book "Memories from the Front" by Revolutionary Air Force Captain Orhan Savaşçı, a Central Committee member of the People's Liberation Party-Front of Turkey (THKP-C) who passed away 3 years ago, to be 'objectionable' and returned it to his family with the note 'Examined'.

PUBLICATION OF THE BOOK CONTINUES

The book by Orhan Savaşçı, who was also the brother of Gülten Savaşçı, the wife of Mahir Çayan, one of the leaders of the Turkish revolutionary movement, continues to be published by Ayrıntı Yayınları, and there is no ban order regarding the book.

However, according to the 'Directive on Libraries and Book Collections in Penal Execution Institutions', a book may not be accepted by the prison even if it has not been banned by a court order. It is stipulated that books not allowed into the prison must be 'racist' or 'sectarian'. Article 11/c of the directive, which regulates the matter, contains the following statements:

“Even if not banned, printed works that are ideologically motivated outside of Atatürk's principles, discriminatory in terms of race and sect, disruptive to unity and solidarity, or whose subject matter constitutes a crime... are not permitted to be brought in.”

"DISCRIMINATORY AND VAGUE EXPRESSIONS"

Commenting on the issue, B.T.'s lawyer Barış Çobanoğlu argued that the regulation in the aforementioned article is full of highly discriminatory and vague expressions.

Stating that the note 'Examined' was added to the book, Lawyer Çobanoğlu said that he would request a written response through a written application and would initiate legal proceedings based on that.

Lawyer Barış Çobanoğlu also stated that the indictment prepared against 30 people, including B.T., was not prepared with an effective investigation.

"NO EFFECTIVE INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED"

Stating that only one of the police officers who filed a complaint due to injury faced a situation exceeding 'simple injury', Barış Çobanoğlu said the following:

“The prosecutor could not find who committed the assault that exceeded simple injury. Since he could not identify the perpetrator, he requested the same punishment for everyone. The prosecutor wants the court to identify the perpetrator that he himself could not find. This is actually an indication that an effective investigation was not conducted. The prosecutor's office is acting with a political attitude.”

The first hearing of the case will be held on July 17.

News Source: 12punto