Turkish-Armenian writer who escaped from prison says he applied for political asylum in Greece

Banu Şen - İZMİR

Turkish-Armenian linguist and writer Sevan Nişanyan, who escaped from prison two weeks ago after having been jailed in 2014 on charges of illegal construction, has announced that he had applied for political asylum in Greece and got his residence card there.

“We have applied for political asylum in Greece and got my residence card,” Nişanyan said in a post on his Facebook on July 26.

He also changed his cover photo to an image of the Acropolis.

Separately, Nişanyan also stated that his Twitter account was not under his control, pointing to a possible virus but it appeared to have already been hacked as of July 27.

Nişanyan was imprisoned in Jan. 2, 2014 on nine different charges to serve for 11 years and six months in jail after completing the construction of a house in Şirince town of the Aegean province of İzmir despite a court decision. The court had previously ruled that Nişanyan should not enter the area, regarded as a natural site.

After leaving prison on sanctioned leave, Nişanyan was supposed to surrender to the Foça Open Prison in İzmir by 9:45 a.m. on July 14, but he did not do so.

“The bird has flown away. The same wishes to the remaining 80 million,” he said in a tweet announcing his escape.

Nişanyan is one of Turkey’s leading linguists and has penned columns for the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and the daily Taraf.