Turkey imposes travel ban on Kurdish writer following detention

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish court has imposed a travel ban on renowned Kurdish writer Suzan Samanci after she was detained at Istanbul Airport upon arriving from Switzerland, she told Rudaw English on Thursday.

Samanci said she was detained on Tuesday on accusations of “propaganda for a terror organization” over tweets she had posted in the past, a charge related to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

She appeared via video link from the airport courthouse before a court in Diyarbakir (Amed), which ordered her release on the condition that she not leave Turkey.

The novelist denies any wrongdoing.

Her lawyer, Eren Keskin, criticized the travel ban, saying in a post on X on Tuesday that imposing such a restriction on Samanci, who has lived in Switzerland for 18 years, amounted to a human rights violation as well as a restriction on freedom of expression.

Samanci told Rudaw English that she had not returned to Turkey since a failed coup attempt in 2016, which was followed by a state of emergency and a sweeping crackdown that saw tens of thousands of people arrested.

She had planned to return last year but was advised by Keskin not to do so.

Samanci said she decided to return in September after her lawyer told her there were no legal obstacles to doing so, but she was detained upon arrival at the airport.

Her detention and travel ban come despite an ongoing peace process between Ankara and the PKK and the recent passage of legislation providing a legal framework for aspects of the process, including the reintegration of some PKK members into society.

Born in Diyarbakir in 1962, Samanci's works have been translated into several languages.

She is a member of PEN International, a worldwide association of writers. Her fiction, written first in Turkish and later also in Kurdish, often addresses conflict, forced migration and everyday life in Kurdish areas.

Samanci said PEN International is in contact with Turkish authorities in an effort to have the travel ban lifted.

She said one of the reasons for returning to Turkey was to seek the removal of a passport restriction imposed in 2023 that has caused difficulties with her Swiss residency.