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Nobel Laureate Denies Relationship with Turkish-Armenian Artist

Turkey’s Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk has denied he is in a romantic relationship with artist Karolin Fişekçi, sending her a formal notification through his lawyer that he would file a legal complaint if she does not stop her public remarks suggesting that she is the novelist’s girlfriend, Today’s Zaman reports.

Fişekçi, a Turkish Armenian painter, was photographed with Pamuk two months ago at a shopping mall in New York, sparking widespread speculations in the Turkish media that Pamuk broke up with Indian writer Kiran Desai and is now together with Fişekçi.

The 32-year-old painter (pictured below) then has made numerous statements to the Turkish media confirming the reports and said Pamuk’s relationship with Desai had ended and that they are mere business associates now.

Pamuk’s lawyer Haluk İnancı said in a formal notification addressing Fişekçi that Pamuk last saw Fişekçi at a mall in New York two months ago and that he has had no contact with her since. “Fişekçi is not my client’s girlfriend,” İnancı said. İnancı said Fişekçi’s statements describing Pamuk’s relationship with Desai as a business relation was “untrue.”

İnancı said Fişekçi’s statements were an insult to Pamuk’s privacy and against not only morality but also laws. “My client has not authorized anyone to speak on his behalf. It seems Fişekçi is not aware that she is committing a crime while violating Pamuk’s privacy,” he said, warning that Fişekçi will face a legal complaint and a compensation request if she does not stop her statements.