“I Signed the Letter Because I Agreed With Its Message”

“This letter was meant to give a message. I was approached to sign the letter. I don’t remember who proposed first. I read the letter and agreed with its content. So I signed it,” Fazıl Say. 

On the other hand, AKP Vice Chairperson Hüseyin Çelik reacted on the letter published by The Times on July 24. 

“It was such an arrogant and overbearing gesture. We are strongly rejecting and condemning this letter,” he said. 

Co-signed by a group of intellectuals including Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Sir Ben Kingsley, the aforementioned statement was an open letter to PM Erdoğan with harsh criticism on the current situation in Turkey. 

Some of the highlight from the letter included: 

“...you held a meeting in Istanbul, reminiscent of the Nuremberg Rally, with total disregard for the five dead whose only crime was to oppose your dictatorial rule.”

“There are more journalists languishing in your prisons than the combined number of those in China and Iran.”, “We respectfully remind you, on the grounds of the European Convention of Human Rights, Turkey has placed itself within the jurisdiction of European Court of Human Rights.” (İŞ/HK/BM)