We talked to the author of the book “Nasty Books: a Legal Criticism in the Context of Literary Works and Obscenity Crime”, A. Ozan Marakoğlu about the crime of obscenity and what kind of consequences this crime has in terms of freedom of expression
We talked with Abdullah Keskin, Editor-in-Chief of Avesta Publishing House. The publishing house has been subjected to various bans on their publications in the last two decades. Our conversation took us on a tour of how they navigate through book bans, their struggle with overt and invisible censorship practices, and the history of the publishing house
Netflix Turkey changed the rating for the series ‘Heartstopper’ from 13+ to 18+. The series is an adaptation of the comic book series by English author Alice Oseman
In this part of our article series, the opinion that it is possible to return to live performance concerts comes to the fore. Both Tonmaister Hünkar Çalışkan and musician Ufuk Şafak say that concerts can be held under healthier conditions than the conditions of political party congresses, and they want the necessary conditions to be met. One of the two names who have been rendered incapable of performing their profession for a long time is trying to make a living by working as a marketer and as a motorcycle courier
The coronavirus pandemic continues to build a wall of “pandemic measures” against the performing arts in Turkey as well. Many musicians have not been able to take the stage since March 2020, and the halls cannot open their doors. Festivals experience online organizations, but it is not known when the concerts, which are the main source of income of the industry, will start. In the second part of our article series, we talk to the organizer, manager and operator Serkan Fidan about the reasons, consequences of this picture and what it points to
In 2020, 13 children’s books were declared obscene. While the allegations of obscenity and LGBTI+ propaganda come to the fore in the decisions of the Board for the Protection of Minors from Sexually Explicit Materials, we sometimes even witness campaigns launched on social media for the inspection of children’s books. As the Speak Up Platform, we asked the experts about the issue that comes up frequently.
As the Speak Up Platform, in the second article in which we deal with the censorship of children’s books in Turkey, we deal with the allegations of “social gender, obscenity, gender identity and LGBTI+ propaganda”, which are constantly shown as an excuse for censorship. Along with expert opinions, we offer solutions for parents who are looking for the right thing for their children, especially among all these claims on social media
Solidarity helps to survive this difficult period of pandemics when the authorities do not produce radical solutions, musicians cannot come together and efforts of professional organizations were appeared to be insufficient. Musician Mavi along with her colleagues can’t stand this course and tries to bring musicians who are having a hard time and establish a network of solidarity. Ahmet Mustafa Sözmen is a musician who plays in rock bands in Mersin and draws attention to the problems in the music scene. We start our series by building a bridge from Bodrum to Mersin…
Poet, writer and translator Erkut Tokman wrote a review for the Speak Up Platform on the autobiographical book of poet İlhan Sami Çomak, who has been deprived of his freedom for 27 years, “Not to Destroy the Ant’s Nest”
We talked with Oktay İnce, a member of the Seyri Sokak Video and Documentary Collective, whose 20-year-old audio-visual archive was prosecuted on the grounds of his social media posts, about his ongoing lawsuits, his actions to take his archive back, his resistance and solidarity