Ayşe Nur Zarakolu

Who was Ayşe Nur Zarakolu?

Ayşe Nur Zarakolu was a Turkish author, publisher and human rights advocate. She was co-founder, with her husband Ragıp Zarakolu, of notable Turkish publishing house Belge and in the 1980s became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. Zarakolu's publications brought her into frequent conflict with Turkish censorship laws; in 1997, the New York Times identified Zarakolu as "[o]ne of the most relentless challengers to Turkey's press laws". Issues Zarakolu helped publicize in Turkey include the Armenian Genocide and human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey. Imprisoned multiple times for her publications, she was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and her legacy continued to face legal challenge in Turkey after her death. She has received multiple awards and honors for her work, and the Human Rights Association of Turkey bestows the Ayşe Zarakolu Freedom of Thought prize in her honor.