Writers’ organizations seek renewed probe into writer Sabahattin Ali’s death

ISTANBUL

This photo shows Turkish writer Sabahattin Ali by bookshelves.

Five Turkish journalism, publishing and writers’ organizations have petitioned the Justice Ministry to reopen the investigation into the 1948 death of Sabahattin Ali, one of Türkiye’s most prominent 20th-century writers, whose killing remains a subject of controversy.

The Turkish Journalists Association, Turkish Publishers Association, Journalists’ Union of Türkiye, Writers’ Union of Türkiye and PEN Writers’ Association called for a fresh examination of investigation and court records, a search of state archives and efforts to locate Ali’s burial site.

Ali, a novelist, poet and journalist known for his critical views, was found dead near the Turkish-Bulgarian border in April 1948 after attempting to leave Türkiye. He had faced repeated prosecution and imprisonment over his political writings. His death has long raised questions about whether he was killed under circumstances different from the official account.

The case has remained controversial for more than seven decades. The joint petition said allegations that Ali died as a result of ill-treatment or torture had not been subjected to an independent and comprehensive investigation.

The organizations cited the lack of definitive identification of his body, uncertainty over what happened to his remains after the autopsy and gaps in judicial records as factors that have deepened suspicions surrounding his death.

Ali is best known internationally for his novel Madonna in a Fur Coat (Kürk Mantolu Madonna), published in 1943. Initially receiving limited attention, the novel gained widespread popularity in Türkiye and abroad decades later and became one of the country’s most widely read modern literary works.

The groups urged the ministry to place the case under the coordination of its Department for the Investigation of Unsolved Crimes and to review the trial records concerning Ali Ertekin, who was convicted in connection with the writer’s death and later benefited from an amnesty.

They also called for searches of police, gendarmerie, intelligence and other state archives for relevant documents, as well as efforts to establish where Ali was buried. If his remains can be located, the organizations said, DNA testing and anthropological examinations should be considered with the consent of his relatives.

They argued that modern forensic techniques and archival research could help establish the facts surrounding a death that has remained unresolved in the public consciousness for generations.