Yttrandefrihetspodden #58 The Power of Books and Culture in Time of Repression – a conversation with Ayşe Buğra Kavala
NOTE: The introduction to this episode is in Swedish but the rest of the conversation, starting from 01.33, is in English.
In this episode, we meet Ayşe Buğra Kavala, a professor of political economy in Istanbul. She is also married to the Turkish publisher and cultural rights activist Osman Kavala, who has been imprisoned for nine years on false grounds. He was recently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Katarina Bjärvall from PEN Sweden meet with her in Stockholm, where she have traveled to accept the Gilel Storch Award on her husband’s behalf.
They speak about her and Osman Kavalas’s daily life while he is imprisoned, his belief in culture as a way to build bridges between people, and the importance of books in their lives.
Read more on Osman Kavala’s case at the PEN International website.