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Hasan Ali Toptaş, a leading figure in Turkish literature, came to the fore with the accusation that he had sexually assaulted and harassed many women in the past. Toptaş did not deny the allegations and made a statement stating that he apologized.
After this event, which had a wide repercussion in the world of literature, the Mersin City Literature Prize was withdrawn, which was awarded by the Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry and went to Hasan Ali Toptaş this year.
Celal Soycan, a member of the Mersin City Literature Prize evaluation board, said that all the members of the Evaluation Board decided to withdraw the award without hesitation.
Noting that as a Board, they made a recommendation decision and the official decision was made by the Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Soycan said: “We notified the decision of the Evaluation Board to MTSO management. They will also make an official decision ”.
Soycan said: “This is an extremely difficult situation. The Evaluation Board has been debating the issue since yesterday and we have agreed to withdraw the award. Because we cannot ignore, tolerate or ignore these claims about Hasan Ali Toptaş. “We decided to withdraw the award we gave Toptaş for our humanitarian, moral, conscientious and literary responsibility.”
Noting that the award ceremony was delayed due to pandemic conditions, Soycan said: “This year, the 2020 City of Mersin Literature Prize will be empty.”
