It’s a duty of all intellectuals not to bow to the oppression, not to take the side of the tyrants!

Last week, on July 12th 2018, the artist Zuhal Olcay was sentenced to 11 months and 20 days of prison for “insulting the President”. This is just one example of tens of  thousands people sentenced for this so-called crime. We all know that many intellectuals, artists, journalists, MPs and of course the people are being detained and arrested for criticising the government on social media, in group chats, in the news or even in conversations.

Not to submit to those attacks of the government, to have the solidarity grow, to set forth the shoulder to shoulder stance against the fascism has became the principal duty of the artists. In this sense we want to make it clear that we stand together with Zuhal Ocal. To have the solidarity grow, to bring each other closer together is our main source of power. We can overcome these hard days with solidarity and without bowing our heads to the tyrants. As people’s artists we will continue to talk, criticise and say what we have to say. All together we will build a new tomorrow full of freedom.

Zuhal Olcay is not alone!

Don’t sentence the artists, sentence the killers!