TURKEY : PEN International Protests Life Sentence Against Sociologist Pinar Selek

PEN Inter­na­tio­nal pro­tests the life sen­tence ser­ved yes­ter­day against wri­ter, socio­lo­gist and femi­nist, Pınar Selek, who is accu­sed of invol­ve­ment in an explo­sion over 14 years ago, although she had been acquit­ted three times pre­vious­ly. The deci­sion was also made des­pite the conclu­sions of nume­rous experts that the inci­dent that took place in an Istan­bul mar­ket in 1998, cau­sing seve­ral deaths and many inju­ries, had been a tra­gic acci­dent cau­sed by a lea­king gas canis­ter. Detai­ned for two and a half years before being freed pen­ding trial, Selek is now living abroad and the hea­ring was in absen­tia. An arrest war­rant has been issued against her.

 The explo­sion hap­pe­ned at the Istan­bul Spice Bazaar in 1998, a tra­ge­dy that led to the deaths of seven people and inju­red 127 others. Selek was arres­ted in July 1998, and then freed two and a half years later after a team of experts conclu­ded that the explo­sion had not been cau­sed by a bomb, but by the acci­den­tal igni­tion of a gas cylin­der. Des­pite the fin­dings, the case against Selek and her co-defen­dants conti­nued, and in Decem­ber 2005 a new trial was ope­ned against her. This trial ended with an acquit­tal six months later in June 2006.

 In March 2009, the Court of Appeals reques­ted a review of the case and rever­sed the acquit­tal. This went to consi­de­ra­tion, and in May 2009 Selek was acquit­ted for a second time. In Februa­ry 2010, the Court of Appeals objec­ted again, and sent the case for review once more. The lower court refu­sed to conduct a review on the grounds that the acquit­tal was legi­ti­ma­te­ly and fair­ly given, and upheld Selek’s acquit­tal in Februa­ry 2011 for a third time. Howe­ver, at a 22 Novem­ber 2012 hea­ring, the lower court deci­ded to drop its refu­sal and pro­ceed with reo­pe­ning the trial against Selek on grounds that the refu­sal had been ‘contra­ry to pro­ce­dure’. The first hea­ring of the reo­pe­ned trial was heard on 13 Decem­ber at the Çağ­layan Courts of Jus­tice, with all five sus­pects in the case being tried in absen­tia.

 Com­men­ta­tors believe that the rene­wed pro­se­cu­tion of Selek is lin­ked to her work as a socio­lo­gist resear­ching Kur­dish issues in the mid-to-late 1990s, and to contact with the ban­ned Kur­dish Wor­kers’ Par­ty (PKK). Accor­ding to PEN sources, no evi­dence has been pre­sen­ted that shows Selek to have been a mem­ber of the PKK or to have enga­ged in violent acti­vi­ties. It is wide­ly belie­ved that she is being pur­sued through the courts as a means of pena­li­sing her for her legi­ti­mate research and com­men­ta­ry. These concerns are inten­si­fied by the alle­ga­tions that Selek, during her impri­son­ment from 1998 – 2000, suf­fe­red tor­ture under inves­ti­ga­tion in an attempt to make her confess to the charges.

 For more infor­ma­tion go to :

Hür­riyet Dai­ly News :  Socio­lo­gist Selek Issued Life Time Impri­son­ment for Alle­ged Bom­bing

Bia­net : Pinar Selek Receives Life Sen­tence Again

Please send appeals : 

• Pro­tes­ting the life sen­tence ser­ved against Pınar Selek on charges of which she has alrea­dy been acquit­ted three times for explo­sion which experts have conclu­ded was a tra­gic acci­dent and not a ter­ro­rist act.

• Urging that the charges against Selek are dis­mis­sed, and that the arrest war­rant against her be remo­ved, enabling her to return to Tur­key without fear of deten­tion.

Send appeals to :

Mr Sadul­lah Ergin
Minis­ter of Jus­tice
06669 Kizi­lay
Anka­ra
Tur­key

Fax : 00 90 312 419 3370

Email : sadullahergin@adalet.gov.tr

Also to the Tur­kish ambas­sa­dor in your coun­try.

 **Please contact the PEN WiPC office in Lon­don if sen­ding appeals after 28 Februa­ry 2013**

For fur­ther infor­ma­tion please contact Sara Whyatt at PEN  Inter­na­tio­nal PEN Wri­ters in Pri­son Com­mit­tee, Brown­low House, 50/51 High Hol­born, Lon­don WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax : +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email : sara.whyatt@pen-internationalpen.org

Sara Whyatt | Depu­ty Direc­tor | Sous-Direc­teur | Sub-Direc­to­ra | PEN Inter­na­tio­nal

t. +44 (0)20 7405 0338 | m. +44 (0)7824640527 | e. Twit­ter | Face­book | www.pen-international.org

Cele­bra­ting 90 years of pro­mo­ting lite­ra­ture and defen­ding free­dom of expres­sion

http://www.pen.org/rapid-action/2013/01/25/pen-protests-life-sentence-against-sociologist-pinar-selek