Writer Kemal Yalçın learned during passport control at İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport on December 9, 2025, that he was subject to a ban on entering Turkey. Yalçın said he was held at the airport for approximately 11 hours and was subsequently sent back to Germany without being allowed to enter Turkey.
Yalçın stated that no explanation has been provided regarding the reason for the entry ban or its legal basis and filed a lawsuit at the Ankara Administrative Court within the statutory period. The case is still ongoing.
According to Yalçın's statement, there is no criminal case pending against him in Turkey, nor has he been convicted of any crime. Yalçın stated that, despite the Ankara Administrative Court's request, the reports, information, or documents forming the basis of the entry ban have not been provided to his lawyers for eight months.
Yalçın said that this situation prevents him from mounting an effective defense and stated, "Since I do not know what solid information and grounds the decision against me is based on, my ability to effectively defend myself against this decision is seriously restricted."
"I entered and left freely for 30 years"
Yalçın stated that he had been forced to leave Turkey following the September 12 military coup and had lived in Germany for 13 years as a stateless person (haymatlos). He said that he was acquitted of all political cases against him in Turkey in 1995.
Emphasizing that he had entered and left Turkey freely for approximately 30 years since 1995, Yalçın said that finding himself today facing an entry ban whose grounds have not been disclosed was "a grave and difficult-to-understand situation."
"An entry ban on a writer who advocates peace is a contradiction"
Yalçın stated that he had worked as a Turkish teacher in Germany for 30 years and retired in 2018. He recalled that he published 40 books to date and that his works were translated into 16 languages. Yalçın said that he had received numerous awards for his literary work and his contributions to friendship and peace among peoples. He stated that he received the 1998 Abdi İpekçi Turkey Friendship and Peace Special Award and the 1999 Turkey-Greece Friendship and Peace Award for his novel "Emanet Çeyiz" (Entrusted Dowry) and that in 2019 he was honored with the "Writer Who Best Represents Turkey Abroad" award at the Denizli Book Fair.
Yalçın said that, at a time when efforts to seek social peace and democratic solutions are once again on the agenda in Turkey, it is contradictory for an entry ban to be imposed on a writer who has advocated peace and friendship throughout his life, and he called on the authorities to act.
Yalçın demanded that the concrete grounds and legal basis for the entry ban against him be disclosed, that he be enabled to exercise his right to a defense effectively, and that the entry ban, which he believes to be unlawful, be lifted.
Yalçın, who stated that he has lived in Germany for 44 years, concluded his statement with the following words:
"The world is my homeland, Germany is my second homeland, and Turkey is my motherland. In the final years of my life, I want to travel freely to and from my motherland and see my family, friends, and readers. I am hopeful; these days, too, will pass. I will continue writing."
