Yavuz EKINCI

Image Credit: Ege Tonbul

Writer Yavuz Ekinci continued to appeal a 2022 conviction and suspended sentence for ‘making propaganda for a terrorist organisation’ for eight Twitter posts mostly relating to (New Year) celebrations in Diyarbakır, south-eastern Türkiye, and to the 2014 battle of Kobane in Syria, which remained pending before Türkiye’s Court of Cassation as of 31 December 2025.  

On 10 November 2025, the 23rd High Criminal Court in Istanbul dismissed separate charges of ‘making propaganda for a terrorist organisation’ against Ekinci in relation to his book, Rüyası Bölünenler (Dream Divided) on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. Ekinci had faced up to seven and a half years in prison. PEN International welcomed the verdict. In 2024, the 23rd High Criminal Court in Istanbul had dismissed all charges against Ekinci following PEN’s campaign, but a retrial had been ordered in May 2025 by the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice.  

Ekinci’s appeal against the ban on the publication, distribution and sale of Dream Divided remained pending before Türkiye’s Constitutional Court at the end of the year. Previously, in 2018, a smear campaign was launched online against Ekinci following the publication of his book  Peygamberin Endişesi (The Prophet’s Concern) (see Case Lists 2021-2025). 

Yavuz Ekinci, born in 1979, has received multiple awards for his short stories, including the 2005 Haldun Taner Award and the 2007 Yunus Nadi Award. His work focuses on the plight of Kurdish people in Türkiye and has been translated into German, Greek, and Kurdish. He also works as a teacher and editor of Kurdish literature. Published in 2014, Dream Divided tells the journey of a Kurdish man who fled Türkiye for political reasons and struggles to build a new life in Germany. Upon learning that his father is gravely ill, the protagonist sets on a journey to find his long-lost brother, who took up arms years prior and fled to the Qandil Mountains. The book ends with a call for unity and peace. His latest book, Aziz, was released in December 2024.