Sevan Nişanyan

Turkish-Armenian writer who escaped from prison says he applied for political asylum in Greece

Turkish-Armenian linguist and writer Sevan Nişanyan, who escaped from prison two weeks ago after having been jailed in 2014 on charges of illegal construction, has announced that he had applied for political asylum in Greece and got his residence card there.

"We have applied for political asylum in Greece and got my residence card," Nişanyan said in a post on his Facebook on July 26.

Jailed Turkish-Armenian writer Sevan Nişanyan announces his escape from prison on Twitter

Turkish-Armenian linguist and writer Sevan Nişanyan, who was jailed in 2014 over charges of illegal construction in the town of Şirince in the Aegean province of İzmir, announced in a Twitter post on July 14 that he had escaped from prison.

"The bird has flown away. The same wishes to the remaining 80 million," read the message on Nişanyan's Twitter page.