Deniz Tekin
A Turkish court questioned a publishing house worker over whether he had read the books he was selling, during the opening hearing of a case in which both he and the owner of Aram Publishing House are charged with “making terrorist propaganda” for selling two books at a prominent book fair in Diyarbakır.
Hakkı Boltan, owner of Aram Publishing House, and employee Delil Zengeralp appeared before the Diyarbakır 4th High Criminal Court on charges related to books sold at the 8th Diyarbakır TÜYAP Book Fair in 2024. The court is prosecuting the two under Article 7/2 of Turkey's Anti-Terror Law, which criminalizes propaganda for terrorist organizations.
During the first hearing, the presiding judge asked Zengeralp, “Have you read the books you previously sold?”
Publisher says he knows the content but not every detail
Hakkı Boltan—also co-chair of the Kurdish Publishers’ Union and regional representative of the DİSK Press Union—said in his defense statement that Aram operates as a commercial publisher. “I repeat my previous defense statements. I reject the charges. As a publishing house, we are engaged in the commercial distribution and sale of books,” he told the court.
When asked by the judge whether he was aware of the books’ content, Boltan said he was familiar with the material but had not read every book in full. He replied “I know some of them” when asked if he knew the authors personally.
Employee says he read the books he sold
Delil Zengeralp, who has been a registered employee of Aram Publishing since 2021 and works as a booth attendant at fairs, initially stated he was unaware of the books’ contents. But when pressed by the judge—“Have you read the books you sold?”—he replied, “I did.”
Lawyer: Books were not banned, press law misapplied
Defense lawyer Resul Temur argued that Aram Publishing specializes in books with social content and said the books’ authors are known public figures. “Hatip Dicle is a well-known figure in Kurdish politics, and Murat Aba is currently in prison. These are not anonymous authors,” Temur said.
Temur pointed to procedural flaws in the case, noting that under Article 11 of Turkey’s Press Law, criminal liability for publishers is conditional. “There is a procedural error in this case. Copies of the books were submitted to the prosecutor’s office during printing. At the time, there was no ban on the sale or distribution of the books. The material and moral elements of the alleged crime are not present. These books should be considered under freedom of expression,” he said.
Court sends case to prosecutor’s office for review
The prosecution requested the case file to be returned in order to address procedural gaps and prepare a final opinion. The court agreed, deciding to write to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to request documentation proving the seizure of the books in question. The trial was adjourned to Jan. 27, 2026.
Background
The charges stem from books sold at the 2024 TÜYAP 8th Diyarbakır Book Fair. The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation after two titles were offered at the Aram Publishing stand: “Efrin Direniş Günlüğü” (“Afrin Resistance Diary”) by Kurdish politician Hatip Dicle and “Dıldare Serkeftina” (“Those in Love with Success”), written in Kurdish by Mahmut Aba.
The indictment claimed both books contained “statements amounting to terrorist propaganda.” On Jan. 10, 2025, the Diyarbakır 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued a court order banning the sale, publication, and distribution of the books and ordered their seizure.
According to the indictment, Dicle is currently abroad, while authorities were unable to verify the identity of Mahmut Aba. Under Article 11/4 of the Press Law (Law No. 5187), the prosecution is seeking criminal penalties for publisher Hakkı Boltan and booth attendant Delil Zengeralp.
