Prominent Turkish journalist and author Ahmet Altan has described fear and repression in Turkey as pervasive, warning that remaining silent out of fear is akin to building a personal prison from which there is no escape.
Speaking to France TV in a rare interview on 10 April, Altan—who was imprisoned for four years and seven months in Silivri Prison before being released in 2021—reflected on the freedom of expression, political risk and the enduring power of literature.
“Turkey is full of risks,” Altan said. “It’s like a minefield—you never know where you’re stepping. I cannot live my life surrounded by fear. But if you choose silence out of fear, you have created a prison for yourself, and no one can save you from it.”
The interview, conducted by renowned French presenter Augustin Trapenard, was filmed in Turkey with a production team of eight. Trapenard travelled to Istanbul to meet Altan, who remains subject to a travel ban. The conversation touched on Altan’s writing, his years behind bars and the wider political atmosphere in Turkey.
Altan compared widespread legal uncertainty to damp spreading through a room, saying that injustice often begins by targeting minorities and marginalised groups. “If you ignore it because you think you’re not affected, it eventually spreads everywhere,” he said.
He highlighted recent protests against the possible imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as a turning point. “For the first time, a very large part of the population has faced lawlessness directly and is now reacting. We don’t know where Turkey is headed, but millions of young people taking to the streets to demand justice is a significant development.”
Altan argued that Turkey has never fully experienced the rule of law or democracy. Citing his own family’s history, he recalled how both he and his father were imprisoned for their writings, and said he had always known that being a writer in Turkey meant facing danger.
“When I was a child, my father had to go to court every morning. I thought all fathers did that,” he said. “Writers in Turkey are at risk. I knew that from the beginning.”
Despite these challenges, Altan said writing offered a form of liberation during his imprisonment. “You are locked in a small cell and others can decide where you are—but you choose how you are,” he said. “Writing helped me escape. The walls of the prison couldn’t withstand the power of the written word.”
Describing literature as “a miracle”, Altan stressed its lasting value. “Everything passes, but literature remains,” he said. “Of course, you want to be published and read in your native language. But I don’t believe in borders when it comes to literature.”
He rejected the idea of writers being morally superior, instead portraying the profession as one of solitude, discipline and emotional complexity. “Writers are not especially good people,” he said. “This is not a job for the kind-hearted. It’s something you do alone, often for years.”
Altan also called for solidarity among thinkers, saying that now is a time for unity. “There is no formal group for writers, but all thinkers must come together,” he said.
Despite the risks, Altan said the act of writing continues to protect him. “Being able to write through all this is a gift. It shields me from everything—from prison, from life, from death. Writing makes me happy,” he said.
