Orhan Pamuk leads call for Turkey to release Altan brothers

"We the undersigned call upon democrats throughout the world, as well as those who care about the future of Turkey and the region in which it exerts a leading role, to protest the vendetta the government is waging against its brightest thinkers and writers who may not share their point of view," read the open letter published earlier this week in The Guardian.

The signees include Nobel Prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, along with a number of prominent international personalities including actress Emma Thompson and authors Margaret Atwood, JM Coetzee and Elena Ferrante.

While the open letter appealed to the international community to take a stand against Turkey's purge of intellectuals, which has taken place in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt, its signees called in particular for the release of Ahmet Altan and his brother Mehmet Altan.

The experienced journalist and his economist brother were detained early on Saturday in Istanbul as part of a far-reaching probe into the failed coup attempt, which Turkey blames on the followers of US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Ahmet Altan is a novelist who has also worked for many years as a columnist for top Turkish newspapers including "Hurriyet" and "Milliyet." In 2007, he founded the opposition daily "Taraf," which he quit in 2012. "Taraf," which was seen as close to Gülen's organization, was shuttered after the putsch attempt.

"The paper championed the public's right to know," said the open letter of "Taraf."

Mehmet brothers in critical TV interview before coup attempt

Ahmet Altan and his brother Mehmet, and economics professor at Istanbul University, were questioned over the comments they made on a TV show a day before the coup attempt, according to local media.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the pair had allegedly spread "subliminal messages" during their interviews.

The Can Erzincan channel, which aired the interview with the Mehmet brothers, has also since been shut down, along with dozens of other media outlets which were deemed to be associated with Gülen.

In the aftermath of the coup, which led to 260 deaths, "it is understandable that the government would have imposed a temporary state of emergency," read the open letter. "However, the failed coup should not be a pretext for a McCarthy-style witch-hunt nor should that state of emergency be conducted with scant regard for basic rights, rules of evidence or even common sense."

The open letter praises Ahmet Altan as one of Turkey's most important writers, with his novels appearing in translation and selling into the millions. His recent international bestseller "Endgame" (2015) is a thrilling murder mystery involving a Turkish retiree.

In addition to his work as professor of economics, Mehmet Altan is also a writer. His "numerous books campaigned to rebuild Turkey's identity not on race or religions, but respect for human rights," the open letter read.

Turkey's ongoing purge of intellectuals

More than 100 journalists have also been rounded up, along with tens of thousands of police, soldiers, judges and civil servants. Many of the reporters detained are better known for their leftist activism and not for sharing the religious world view of the Gülenist movement.

Among those arrested earlier is veteran journalist and writer Nazli Ilicak, who also appeared on the same talk show as the Altan brothers. The content of the talk show has not been publicized in Turkish media.

Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, had built up a substantial media presence in Turkey. Most of his outlets have since been closed.

Turkey has called on the US to extradite the cleric, but Washington says the legal process must be followed. Gülen denies all of Turkey's accusations.

kbm/mm/ (AFP, dpa, Reuters)