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We are publishing a letter from Fikret Akar, a political prisoner from Turkey, who achieved victory in the resistance by hunger strike and was transferred from a pit-type prison to a non-isolation type prison, to Ukrainian political prisoners, anti-fascists and communists Mikhail and Alexander Kononovich.
Tekirdağ, Tuesday 5 May 2026
Dear Mikhail Kononovich, dear Alexander Kononovich,
I send you the greetings and best wishes of all the Free Prisoners in Tekirdağ.
I last wrote to you in August; quite some time has passed since then. During this time, there have been many developments in my personal life, in our country and around the world. I have learnt that there have been developments in your lives as well. Although I am unable to write letters, I try to keep track of the developments and events as much as possible.
I understand that, as part of your judicial supervision, the electronic ankle tags on your legs have been removed, and that you were offered bribes such as a house or a job in exchange for supporting the current government, and that if you refused the offer, you were threatened with losing everything because the electronic tags had been removed; I know that you responded to these threats with a true communist principle, and that when you explained the situation in court, the judges replied, ‘There is nothing we can do’. I know even more. I was pleased to learn that the campaign organised across Europe in solidarity with you was successful, and that the electronic tags have been re-fitted to your ankles.
Dear Mikhail, dear Alexander, it is heartening to see that international solidarity has succeeded in your case. Moreover, it serves as a guiding light and an inspiration for even greater successes. Today, we are witnessing one of the most aggressive and ruthless periods in the history of imperialism. As economic crises deepen, they will become far more aggressive. They have reduced Gaza, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Libya to rubble. They have left not a single stone standing. They have slaughtered millions of children, women, young people and the elderly. They are still continuing to slaughter. They have abducted and imprisoned the legitimate President of Venezuela and his wife through the machinations of their collaborators. And now they are openly declaring their intention to attack Cuba. We have a saying in our country: ‘A dog whose time has come will urinate on the mosque wall!’ What this means is that the mosque is the centre of worship for Muslims; it is sacred. The people will not leave insults or attacks on their sacred places unpunished. The independence of their countries is sacred to the people. Today, the people are resisting to the death to defend their sacred things. Millions are dying, yet they refuse to surrender. Today, the struggle of the peoples of the Middle East is coming to the fore.
The Middle East is turning into a sea of blood for the people, and a quagmire for imperialism. Every drop of blood they shed makes the quagmire even deeper. The imperialists are acting in concert. They are vastly superior in terms of arms, military might and technology. The peoples are hungry, impoverished and deprived of resources. Under these conditions, solidarity is the only alternative the peoples have to win. The German Chancellor once made a remark implying that ‘Israel is doing the dirty work on our behalf’ regarding the massacres carried out by Israel. In other words, he is saying that Israel is acting as our hired killers. A prime minister is admitting this. The German people cannot, and must not, remain indifferent to this statement. Either they will take the necessary steps to stop Israel’s massacres, or they will become complicit in the responsibility for these massacres, and their hands will be stained with blood. The luxury of people saying “what’s it got to do with me?” is now gone. A rapid polarisation is taking place across the world. It is precisely at this point that international solidarity is the only path to liberation for all the oppressed peoples of the world. Now is the time to say: “All for one, and one for all…” The campaign being carried out for you is a modest example of this.
International solidarity is, of course, first and foremost the responsibility of those who call themselves communists, socialists, revolutionaries, and fighters for democratic rights and freedoms… for these are the most sensitive and conscious sections of society. Among the key points requiring particular attention in uniting the peoples’ struggles is the alignment regarding who is waging the fight against imperialism. Unfortunately, there have been many instances of misjudgement on this matter. For example, there are approaches that refrain from supporting the struggle against imperialism in Iran simply because the regime there is described as religious and reactionary.
This is wrong and must be avoided. The issue is actually very simple. The primary contradiction that must be resolved in the world today is that between the imperialists and the oppressed peoples of the world. Any development or struggle that strengthens and advances the cause of the oppressed peoples, whilst holding back and weakening imperialism, must be supported unconditionally. In this context, Iran’s resistance against US imperialism must be supported unconditionally. In Italy, trade union resistance is taking place against the massacre in Gaza, whilst mass demonstrations are occurring in countries such as the UK and the US. Unfortunately, however, these are still far from yielding results. Yet developments hold promise. We remain hopeful.
When I received your letter, I was in the Çorlu pit type prison, resisting solitary confinement. Today, I am writing to you from Tekirdağ No. 2 F-type prison. On 28 November, my transfer from the pit type prison took place in accordance with my request. After being forcibly held in hospital for five days and spending two days in prison alongside prisoners from various political cases, I arrived at the cell where I am currently held on 5 December. Due to the indefinite hunger strike that lasted exactly 250 days, I had dropped to 54 kilos and was experiencing various health issues; as it was difficult for me to manage on my own, a young comrade named Umut Yoloğlu (aged 27) was brought in to accompany me. I currently weigh around 80 kilograms; although I still have some ailments such as foot pain, I am feeling better. My treatment and health checks are ongoing. In April, another comrade named Rıdvan Akbaş was brought to join us, bringing our number to three. Our comrade Rıdvan is a member of Grup Yorum. The fact that we are able to remain here as three people today, and that my request was granted leading to my transfer from Pit Type to F Type, is thanks to international solidarity and your support. For this reason, I would like to once again express my gratitude and appreciation to you and to everyone who has supported me.
We are curious to know what your activities there are like, and we would like to learn about the general situation and conditions there. Of course, I would be grateful if you could share as much as you are able to.
As you know, our opportunities for activities in prison are limited. We sum up our activities as ‘read, write, draw…’. We make a point of reading whatever books, magazines and newspapers we can get our hands on. Reading forms the basis of our efforts to acquire general theoretical knowledge and to keep abreast of world events. We can watch around 40 national channels selected by the administration on TV. Although limited and biased, we follow the news via TV news channels. I’ll conclude this letter by saying that I’ll write in more detail about our work in the next one. Over to you! If there’s anything you’re curious about, I’ll write in more detail. Take care of yourselves and one another.
We send the greetings and love of all the prisoners in Tekirdağ, and wish you success and ease in your work.
Fikret Akar
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS (IS4PP) 
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