For the public opinion
The Kurdish PEN Center condemns the six years and three months prison sentence imposed by the Turkish regime and its politically active courts on Mr. Eyyüp Subaşı, a Kurdish language teacher, and calls for the immediate annulment of this ruling.
The right to education and living in one’s mother tongue is one of the most fundamental human rights, recognized in various international documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Language, as a core element of individual and social identity, is more than a simple tool of communication; it is a bearer of a society’s culture, history, ideas, and worldview, playing a key role in the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage.
Teaching and learning in one’s mother tongue is not only an individual right but a necessity for preserving the linguistic and cultural diversity of society. In this context, the arrest and imprisonment of those who teach in their mother tongue is not only a gross violation of human rights and linguistic rights but also a systematic attempt to erase a culture and history.
The Turkish regime has a long history of suppressing the Kurdish language and restricting the linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurdish people. Following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923, under the framework of Turkish nationalist ideology and policies of linguistic and cultural homogenization, the Kurdish language became one of the main targets of oppression. These repressive policies intensified after the 1980 military coup, with the formal prohibition of teaching any language other than Turkish and the severe censorship of Kurdish literary and cultural works.
Kurdish activists and writers have never remained silent in the face of these oppressions and have consistently fought for their rights. Despite limited reforms in recent decades, repressive policies against the Kurdish language continue. Independent academies that teach the Kurdish language are repeatedly threatened and shut down, and Kurdish language and cultural teachers and activists are arrested and imprisoned.
Mr. Eyyüp Subaşı, who completed his master’s degree in Kurdish culture and language and is currently a Ph.D. student at Dicle University, has been teaching Kurdish at the Kurdish Institute of Istanbul since 2015. From 2019 to 2023, Mr. Subaşı served as the co-chair of the Kurdish Institute of Istanbul, contributing to its research activities. After the establishment of the Kurdish Culture and Language Network, he joined its secretariat, and he currently serves on the board of directors of the Kurdish Institute of Istanbul.
In addition to his work in Kurdish language activism, Mr. Subaşı also works on translations from English, Persian, and Turkish into Kurdish and has translated two novels and numerous articles. He has also volunteered as a translator for refugees. Due to his activities, Mr. Subaşı has been detained several times, and on October 17, 2024, he was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for his work related to the Kurdish language.
As the Kurdish PEN Center, we emphasize that the preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity is key to building societies based on peaceful coexistence. We strongly condemn the six years and three months prison sentence against Mr. Eyyüp Subaşı, and we call on activists, organizations, and supporters of linguistic and cultural rights to raise their voices against this ruling and advocate for its annulment.
Kurdish PEN Center
20/10/2024
