Mehmet Altan

Mehmet Altan
Born
Mehmet Hasan Altan

(1953-01-11) 11 January 1953 (age 71)
Ankara, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
Occupation(s)Academic economist, journalist, and author
ParentÇetin Altan (father)
RelativesAhmet Altan (brother)

Mehmet Hasan Altan (born 11 January 1953[1]) is a Turkish academic economist, journalist, and author of over 25 books. Describing himself as a "Marxist-liberal", he is the originator of the term "Second Republic", arguing that Turkey needs to reconstitute its republic as a true democracy.[2] He is a strong supporter of the Accession of Turkey to the European Union.

Background

He was born 1953 in Ankara, Turkey to the journalist and writer Çetin Altan as the second of two sons. His brother Ahmet Altan is also a journalist and writer.[3]

Altan studied at the Sorbonne University from 1979 to 1984, completing masters and doctoral degrees in economics.[2]

Career

Altan has worked faculty of economics of the Istanbul University since 1986 becoming an associate professor in 1987 and a full professor in 1993. He was dismissed in the aftermath of the failed coup d'état attempt of 2016 and wasn't re-hired since.[4]

From 1987 to November 2006 he contributed to Sabah, before moving to Star, becoming editor-in-chief. He left Star in January 2012.[5] He has been dismissed from his paper because of government's pressures on media.[6]

Prosecution

On 10 September 2016, Altan was arrested in the wake of the coup d'état attempt. He was later indicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and acting on behalf of a terrorist organization. The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled on 11 January 2018 that his rights as a journalist had been violated, but his subsequent application for release was rejected by Istanbul Assize Court. On 16 February 2018 he was sentenced to life in prison. In response to this, on 20 March 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) made a ruling that determined that his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated, namely Article, namely Article 5 § 1 (right to liberty and security) and Article 10 (freedom of expression).[7] He was sentenced to life in prison for terror related charges in February 2018 because the day before the Turkish coup d`état attempt 2016, according to Reuters he said on television: “Whatever the developments were that led to military coups in Turkey, by making the same decisions, Erdogan is paving the same path”. On 27 June 2018 he was released pending trial.[8]

Views

He is the creator of the term "Second Republic", which advocates for the re-founding of Turkey with democracy.[1] He criticized Robert Spano, the president of the ECHR, for his acceptance of an honorary Doctorate by the Istanbul University from the same people who have dismissed him in 2016.[4]

Publications

  • Kanatlı Karınca, Nisan Yayınları 1985
  • Süperler ve Türkiye, AFA Yayınları 1986
  • Marks'tan Sevgilerle, Güneş Yayınları 1989
  • Darbelerin Ekonomisi (1990)
  • Kapitalizm bu köye uğramadı
  • Kurtler: Seytan Soyundan Mi?
  • İkinci Cumhuriyet'in Yol Hikayesi
  • Puslu Demokrasi : Ergenekon Güncesi
  • Marksist Liberal
  • Kent Dindarlığı
  • Metropolis İslam, Timas Publishing Group. ISBN 978-605-114-108-4

References

  1. ^ a b "Mehmet Altan Arrested, Ahmet Altan Released". Bianet. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b Hurriyet Daily News, 18 April 2009, Provocative politics as the family business
  3. ^ Dündar, Can (20 November 2019). "The Turkish authorities released a writer from prison. It took them one week to re-arrest him". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b "An open letter to ECtHR President Robert Spano". www.duvarenglish.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. ^ pgchallenges.org, Prof. Dr. Mehmet ALTAN
  6. ^ "There's never been this much pressure on Turkish media, Mehmet Altan Says". salihsarikaya.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  7. ^ Judgment concerning the application by the journalist Mehmet Hasan Altan, who was arrested and detained following the attempted military coup
  8. ^ "Turkish journalist Mehmet Altan released from prison". Reuters. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.