Ahmet Altan

Ahmet Hüsrev Altan (born 1950) is a Turkish journalist and author.

Biography

He was born 1950 in Ankara, Turkey to the notable journalist and writer Çetin Altan as the first of two sons. His brother Mehmet Altan is also a journalist, writer and university professor of economy politics.

A working journalist for more than twenty years, he has served in all stages of the profession, from being a night shift reporter to editor in chief in various newspapers.

In addition to having written columns in several Turkish newspapers, including Hürriyet, Milliyet and Radikal, Altan has produced news programming for television. He is currently the editor in chief and lead columnist of Taraf, a daily Turkish newspaper.

He was fired from Milliyet after writing a column on 17 April 1995 titled "Atakurd", which presented an alternate history of Turkey.^[2]

In September 2008 when Altan published an article titled "Oh, My Brother" dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, he was charged under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for "denigrating Turkishness". The judicial claim was initiated by the far-right "Great Union Party."^[3][4]

Altan, along with some of his Taraf associates, carries a firearm for self-protection.^[5]

Bibliography

Novels

• Kılıç Yarası Gibi (Like a Sword Wound)
• Dört Mevsim Sonbahar (Four Seasons of Autumn)
• Yalnızlığın Özel Tarihi (A Private History of Loneliness)
• Sudaki İz (Trace on the Water)
• Aldatmak (Cheating)
• İsyan Günlerinde Aşk (Love in the Days of Rebellion)
• En Uzun Gece (The Longest Night)
• Tehlikeli Masallar (Dangerous Tales)

Collections of essays

• Gece Yarısı Şarkıları (Midnight Songs)
• İçimizde Bir Yer (Somewhere Inside Us)
• Karanlıkta Sabah Kuşları (Morning Birds in Darkness)
• Kristal Denizaltı (Crystal Submarine)
• Ve Kırar Göğsüne Bastırırken (And He Breaks While Holding Down To His Chest)

Footnotes

1. ^ Altan, Ahmet (30 August 2011 2009). "Benim Allahım" (in Turkish). Taraf. http://forum.memurlar.net/konu/731552/. Retrieved 14 May 2011. "Ne garip beni Allahın olmadığına dindarlar inandırdı" 
2. ^ Altan, Ahmet (1995-04-17). "Atakurd". Milliyet. http://kato.iki.fi/kato/atakurd.html. Retrieved 2009-01-02. 
3. ^ A trial against the journalist who wrote about the Genocide, Azg daily, Sept. 2008.
4. ^ Onderoglu, Erol (2008-09-12). "Writer And Journalist Ahmet Altan Charged With Insulting Turkish Nation". Bianet. http://bianet.org/english/kategori/english/109701/writer-and-journalist-ahmet-altan-charged-with-insulting-turkish-nation. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 
5. ^ Hansen, Suzy (2009-01-02). "Eye of the storm". The National Newspaper (Abu Dhabi Media Company). http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090102/REVIEW/729068226/1187/enewsletter. Retrieved 2009-01-02. "Ahmet carries a gun. But he always carried a gun. Alev carries a gun. These guys like guns, it’s not like they have to carry guns. But it also shows me that they feel more secure having a gun. They don’t want a bodyguard after them all the time." 

References

• Biography of Ahmet Altan (Turkish)

External links

• Ahmet Altan'ın Eserlerinden örnekler, denemeleri, günlük fıkraları
• Ahmet ALTAN Hakkında yazılan Polis Akademisi Bitirme Tezi
• Gazetem Net'teki köşe yazıları
• Hürriyet Gazetesindeki Köşe Yazıları

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