IPA PRESS RELEASE

THE 2010 IPA FREEDOM TO PUBLISH PRIZE GOES TO ISRAPIL SHOVKHALOV, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE DOSH MAGAZINE

"2010 IPA FREEDOM PRIZE – SPECIAL AWARD" GOES TO TURKISH PUBLISHER IRFAN SANCI OF SEL YAYINCILIK/PUBLISHING

Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul – 6 October 2010

The President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), Herman P. Spruijt, announced on 6 October 2010 in Frankfurt that Israpil Shovkhalov, Editor-in-Chief of the Dosh Magazine, was voted recipient of the 2010 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize for his exemplary courage in upholding freedom to publish. The other short-listed candidates were publisher Rosspen of Russia and Bui Chat (Giay Vun publishing, Vietnam). A special Award will also go to Turkish publisher Irfan Sanci (Sel Yayıncılık).

The Board of the IPA selected Israpil Shovkhalov, Editor-in-Chief of the Dosh Magazine, as Prize-winner from among many highly commendable candidates, announced IPA President Herman P. Spruijt following the meeting of IPA’s Board at the Frankfurt Book Fair on 6 October 2010.

IPA Secretary General declares: “Because of its fearless journalism and open commitment to human rights and understanding between the conflicting parties in the Caucasus, the editors, reporters and freelance journalists of the Dosh magazine are being threatened from all sides, and sometimes even harassed and threatened in an increasingly hostile environment. A serious incident as recent as March 2010 underlines the threats. Israpil Shovkhalov and executive editor Abdulla Duduev were on their way to make an interview with the President of the Republic of Ingushetia when they were abducted by unknown assailants who ended releasing them after a while.  We award the 2010 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize to Israpil Shovkhalov, Editor-in-Chief of the Dosh Magazine, in deep respect for his courage, and as a salute to the passion, and the integrity that he so marvellously demonstrates”.

IPA established the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize to honour a person or an institution that has made an important contribution to the defence and promotion of freedom to publish anywhere in the world. This year’s award will be formally presented by the IPA President in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 November 2010 on the closing day of the international days of the Istanbul Book Fair (30 October – 2 November).

The other short-listed candidates nominated by IPA members, individual publishers and human rights’ organisations were: Bui Chat (Giay Vun Publishing, Vietnam) and Rosspen (Publisher, Russia).

On the same occasion, IPA will also be awarding the “2010 IPA Freedom Prize—Special Award” to Turkish publisher İrfan Sanci of Sel Yayıncılık (publishing).

IPA Freedom to Publish Committee Chair Bjørn Smith-Simonsen says: “The owner of Sel publishing, Irfan Sanci, has been sued under Article 226 of the Turkish penal code (TPC; obscenity) for having published the following books: Ben Mila's The Fairy's Pendulum; Guillaume Apollinaire's Adventures of the Young Don Juan; and Letters of a Learned and Well-mannered French Bourgeois Lady by P.V., facing up to 9 years in jail. In May 2010, despite an experts’ report from the Galatasaray and Bahcesehir Universities, concluding that the books were works of literature, an Istanbul court decided, for the first time in history, to send the three books to the Prime Ministerial Board for the Protection of Children from Harmful Publications for review, deciding whether they constitute literature or obscenity. The next hearing is due on 2 November 2010. There is potential political censorship in the air. We therefore call for Sel's acquittal".

More about Dosh, and Israpil Shovkhalov, Editor-in-Chief of the Dosh Magazine, recipient of the 2010 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize:

The editor in chief, Israpil Shovkhalov, has long journalistic experiences and has worked for human rights in Russia for years. He was engaged as assistant to Duma-deputies from the Yabloko party from 1998-2003.

Dosh means «Word» in Chechen. It was founded in 2003 by ”The Regular Civic Initiative – The Right to Live and Human Dignity Public Organisation”, which is still publishing it. It is issued on paper four times a year, with a circulation of 5000 copies sold and spread over a wide area: Russia, Caucasus, and Europe. Its Internet-version is constantly updated with news and commentaries (www.doshdu.ru – also an English digest of the magazine). A pdf-version of the printed magazine is made available for readers ”living far away from their motherland” as the home page states. A digest is published on paper, as a pdf-file and on the Internet in English.

The aim of the magazine is to bring news, commentaries, analysis and reports from the Caucasus, especially from the Chechen Republic. The magazine is one of the very few press-institutions that report and bring stories from both sides of the on-going, tragic conflict. It prints close-up reports of how the war inflicts on the concrete lives of single human beings, as well as analyses. It is obvious from the articles that the magazine centres its focus on single human beings and their dignity. It has, for example, brought the situation of children war-victims into the light. Dosh receive and print letters from people being imprisoned in Russia without trial. Thus, it concentrates its campaign for democracy, justice and an open society on the most practical and concrete starting-point: the single human being, its dignity, self-recognition and its recognition from others.The magazine views the conflicts in the Caucasus in a broad perspective which includes the need for Russia, its politicians, leaders and society, to reconsider their view of the past.

Dosh is widely read and receives a lot of letters praising the work of its editors and journalists, but at the same time they are met with increasing hostility from the authorities and large parts of society. The importance of such a magazine and the fact that it has being regularly published over a relatively long period (almost eight years) cannot, however, be overestimated. It has become an institution, an island of human dignity and real news in a time when Russians as well as members of the ethnic minorities in the Russian Federation in a growing degree suffer from the power play among the authorities and ignorance from the main media outlets. The fact that Dosh is read by both Russians and Caucasian people in and outside Russia, as well as the perspective of its articles give in itself a hope for the future of an open society in Russia. The loss of Dosh could mean that a more brutal and inhuman Russian society is coming closer.

More about Sel's Case:

The hardships encountered by Sel publishing are all the more surprising that Turkey was only recently condemned in February 2010 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for violating Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Freedom of Expression) for having banned and condemned under Art. 226 TPC another book by Guillaume Apollinaire: Eleven Thousand Rods published by Rahmi Akdas in 1999. On that occasion, the ECHR ruled that censorship of this book “hindered public access to a work belonging to the European literary heritage.

More about the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize:

In 2005, IPA re-established the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize, a prize designed to honour each year a person or an organisation that has made an important contribution to the defence and promotion of freedom to publish anywhere in the world. While the 2006 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize was awarded to Iranian publisher Shalah Lahiji during the Göteborg Book Fair, the 2007 Prize was awarded to Zimbabwean publisher Trevor N’cube at the Cape Town Book Fair. Special Prizes were also given posthumously to Anna Politkovskaya (Russia) and Hrant Dink (Turkey/Armenia). The 2008 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize was awarded to Turkish publisher Ragıp Zarakolu during the opening ceremony of an international seminar on neo-censorship co-organised in Amsterdam by Amsterdam World Book Capital 2008 and IPA. The 2009 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize was awarded to Sihem Bensedrine, Neziha Rjiba and Mohamed Talbi, founders of the Observatory for the Freedom of the Press, Publishing and Creation in Tunisia (OLPEC), as part of the Global Forum on Freedom of Expression program, a Forum IPA was partner of.
Prize-winners receive the sum of 5'000 CHF.

More about IPA’s Turkish member TYB, the Istanbul Book Fair, and the Award Ceremony for the 2010 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize:

The Turkish Publishers Association (TÜRKİYE YAYINCILAR BİRLİĞİ - TYB) was founded in 1985. TYB is by far the largest publishers’ association in Turkey. It has been an active and important IPA member since 2002. Its goals are: To further the development of publishing; to find solutions to professional problems; for these purposes, to cooperate with ministries and all official/non-governmental institutions; to fight against pirate publishing; to work to lift barriers on freedom of expression and publishing; to contribute to the development of culture, literature and art; to strive to make our country an international publishing centre; to gain support for social and scientific enquiry and to encourage book reading. For more about the TYB, please go to: www.turkyaybir.org.tr 29th Istanbul Book Fair, organized by TÜYAP Fair and Exhibition Organisation, Inc. and TYB, will take place at the TÜYAP Fair and Convention Center, Beylikdüzü on 30 October – 7 November 2010. Spain will be this year’s guest of honour. The international hall will be opened from 30 Occtober until 2 November. For more about the Istanbul Book Fair, please see: www.istanbulbookfair.com Award Ceremony for the 2010 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize will mark the end of the international days of the Istanbul Book Fair on 2 November. The Award Ceremony will therefore take place in international hall 5 from 4 to 6 p.m. on 2 November. The Award will be formally presented by IPA President Herman P. Spruijt. Keynote speakers will be: writer and critic Dogan Hizlan (to be confirmed), and publisher Ragip Zarakolu (TYB Freedom to Publish Committee Chair, Belge Yayinlari). Deniz Kavukoaglu, General Manager of Tüayp, will act as master of ceremony (to be confirmed).

More about IPA:

The International Publishers Association (IPA) is the global non-governmental organisation representing all aspects of book and journal publishing worldwide. Established in 1896, IPA's mission is to promote and protect publishing and to raise awareness for publishing as a force for cultural and political advancement worldwide. IPA is an industry association with a human rights mandate. IPA currently has 65 member associations in 53 countries.

For further information, please contact:

Alexis Krikorian
Director, FTP
International Publishers Association
3, avenue de Miremont
CH - 1206 Geneva
Tel: +41 22 704 1820
Fax: +41 22 704 1821
krikorian@internationalpublishers.org
www.internationalpublishers.org