Arbitrary punishment

Every year on 19 January, the day Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was murdered in 2007, the Gorki commemorates his political engagement and his life-long commitment to reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish populations. Following the early release of his murderer in November 2023 after 16 years of imprisonment, we take a closer look at the legal complications related to freedom of thought and speech in Turkey. Arrested Justice brings together the real-life stories of Hrant Dink, the author Doğan Akhanlı and the imprisoned philanthropist Osman Kavala in the form of two productions, a presentation and a panel discussion, highlighting how closely linked their biographies are in the fight for freedom of speech.

The trial of philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was imprisoned without charges in 2017 and later sentenced to a life in prison for allegedly participating in the Gezi uprising, illustrates the political suppression of the freedom of speech in Turkey. The Arbitrary Punishment presentation sheds light on the failures of the Turkish legal system in Kavala’s case through artworks and films by Adrian Figueroa, Can Dündar, Murat Başol und Zeynep Özatalay.


Presentation as part of Arrested Justice