Pinar Selek’s case : Ria Oomen concerned about judiciary in Turkey

Ria Oomen-Rui­j­ten, Euro­pean Par­lia­ment rap­por­teur on Tur­key, expres­sed concern about the judi­cial sys­tem in Tur­key. She did so after recent deve­lop­ments in the judi­cial pro­cee­dings against Pinar Selek, which have now las­ted for over 14 years des­pite three acquit­tal deci­sions.

Alrea­dy in its reso­lu­tion on Tur­key’s 2010 pro­gress report, the Euro­pean Par­lia­ment expres­sed concern about conti­nuing court cases against human rights defen­ders and drew par­ti­cu­lar atten­tion to the trial of Pinar Selek, which then alrea­dy las­ted 12 years. The third deci­sion of acquit­tal in favour of Pinar Selek was wel­co­med and applau­ded on the 9th of Februa­ry 2011.

Howe­ver, the Istan­bul Hea­vy Penal Court No. 12 deci­ded last month to amend its deci­sion to acquit Ms. Pinar Selek. The court ins­tead reques­ted her condem­na­tion to life impri­son­ment, with a new hea­ring set for 13th of Decem­ber.

Ria Oomen-Rui­j­ten : « This new and unex­pec­ted deve­lop­ment will nega­ti­ve­ly influence the public per­cep­tion of the Tur­kish judi­cial sys­tem, and Tur­key’s repu­ta­tion abroad at large. The EPP Group in the Euro­pean Par­lia­ment has always stres­sed that the reform of the judi­cial sys­tem is an indis­pen­sable pre­re­qui­site for Tur­key’s moder­ni­sa­tion and that such reform must lead to a modern, effi­cient, ful­ly inde­pendent and impar­tial judi­cial sys­tem, gua­ran­teeing due pro­cess of law for all citi­zens. »

« The legal pro­cee­dings against Ms. Selek confirm our eva­lua­tion that judi­cial pro­ce­dures in Tur­key have still not been suf­fi­cient­ly impro­ved as regards their effi­cien­cy and rules to ensure the right to a fair and expe­di­tious trial. We expect that the res­pect for rule of law will pre­vail in Tur­key. »

More infor­ma­tion :
Ria Oomen-Rui­j­ten
ria.oomen-ruijten@europarl.europa.eu