Imprisoned Kurdish political figure Zeki Bayhan, who was transferred to the Imrali High-Security F-Type Prison where Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan is also held, has released the second edition of his book 21st Century Freedom Ideology: Democratic Socialism through Belge Publishing. The first edition of the book was published by the same house in May 2015.

Vedat Türkali’s reflection on the book

The promotional section of the book features a piece written by author Vedat Türkali about Zeki Bayhan’s work. Türkali’s words about the book are as follows: “Before publishing his book, Zeki Bayhan sent it to me from prison through Ragıp Zarakolu. I learned that Zeki Bayhan has been imprisoned for 16 years. I thank him and send my greetings. He has done a thorough reading and synthesized his thoughts well, making meaningful projections for the future. That is something important... Marxism is not static, it is a method that is tested and enriched through life. And it still continues to enrich opposing standpoints. At the same time, even through those oppositions, it manages to transcend itself. It is a dialectical phenomenon.

Bayhan’s book took me back to my own years in prison, to Sultanahmet Prison. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as idle time in prison, at least not for communists. Reading, listening, thinking, debating... these human faculties are perfected there. Communal life, in every sense, highlights sharing and solidarity. I now recall the seminars given by Şefik Hüsnü, explaining shifts in global politics, or Reşat Fuat Baraner’s interpretations of Marxist theory... A true communist has always managed to turn imprisonment into a form of enrichment.”

Who is Zeki Bayhan?

Zeki Bayhan was born in 1976 in Hakkari (Colemêrg). He completed his primary and secondary education in Hakkari. In 1998, while studying at the Faculty of Architecture and Engineering at Anadolu University, he was arrested for political reasons. While in prison, he completed a degree in economics. Bayhan has now been imprisoned for 27 years and is currently held at the Imrali High-Security F-Type Penal Institution.

In addition to his articles published in various newspapers and journals, Zeki Bayhan is the author of the following books:

- The Democratic, Ecological, and Gender-Liberating Paradigm (Belge, 2011)

- 21st Century Freedom Ideology: Democratic Socialism (Belge, 2015)

- The Democratic Nation – A Way Out of the Genocidal Nation-State Paradigm (Belge, 2016)

- Ascending to Zero (Aram, 2018)

- Why a New Paradigm of Social Sciences I – The Dilemmas of Modern Social Sciences (Belge, 2024)

- Why a New Paradigm of Social Sciences II – On the New Paradigm in Social Sciences and the Sociology of Freedom (Belge, 2024)