The Story That Sent Ahmet Altan Back to Jail

Only a week after his release, Turkey’s authorities again arrested famous novelist Ahmet Altan. It was a piece that spooked the regime that Altan would never remain silent. And he didn’t.

After a week of freedom, Altan was sent back to jail to serve his sentence.

Days after his release, Ahmet Altan did not waste time to pen down a short piece chronicling his days in his prison cell. In his attention-grabbing and eloquently articulated prose, Altan portrayed the story of a man who crafted a makeshift, hand-made flute, using cardboard pages of a calendar.

For some inmates (the unwanted elements of the new regime in the post-coup era), many things were off-limits and unavailable in Turkey’s overcrowded jail landscape. And Altan was sharing his room with some of them.

One day when Altan deeply wallowed in ruminations over a new novel on his desk, he was suddenly jolted by the seducing power of a beautifully played flute song in the courtyard. When he stepped out to see the performer of this ad-hoc, impromptu musical ceremony, he saw his cellmate out there, leaning his back against a wall, playing his makeshift flute. It was a sad but alluring song. When the performance was over, there was a standing ovation behind the walls, with inmates expressing their approval and joy by…