Jailed publisher Zarakolu up for Nobel peace prize

Radikal

Publisher Ragıp Zarakolu. DAILY NEWS photos, Emrah GÜREL

Swedish MPs have applied to the Nobel Peace Committee to nominate jailed publisher Ragıp Zarakolu for the peace prize, daily Radikal reported today.

The MPs said Zarakolu was a symbol for the freedom of press, as well as a defender of human rights.

The application further mentioned the books Zarakolu had published on the Armenian and Kurdish issues, as well as Islam, and said his efforts, for which he was jailed, contributed to bringing cultures together.

Zarakolu is also a member of the Turkish PEN Center, as well as a recipient of numerous prestigious international awards.

He was arrested on Nov. 1, 2011, alongside prominent academic Büşra Ersanlı and dozens of other suspects upon the order of an Istanbul court over his alleged links with the KCK, the alleged urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).