Renowned Turkish columnist Cetin Altan dies

ISTANBUL

The writer of much-debated articles, 88-year-old journalist, playwright, and a prominent figure in Turkish politics, Cetin Altan has died on Thursday in a hospital in Istanbul, according to relatives speaking to local media.

There is no official statement about Altan's cause of death. He had been taken to the hospital back in June but was later discharged. 

Father of the two famous Turkish brothers -- Ahmet Altan, a journalist and author, and Mehmet Altan, an economist and instructor at Istanbul University -- Cetin Altan was an author, journalist, columnist, and playwright.

He was also a deputy between 1965 and 1969 for the left-wing Workers Party of Turkey -- the first socialist party in the country to gain representation in the country's national parliament.

He was sentenced to prison several times on charges of spreading communist propaganda in his articles. 

He also wrote several novels such as "The Great Surveillance" (1972) and "Whisky" (1975), as well as poems, plays such as "Criminals" (1965), and non-fiction works such as "Social beliefs of Ataturk" (1965).