Pinar Selek on trial for the third time
Pinar Selek on trial for the third time
The third trial against sociologist Pinar Selek has begun following the the decision the local court gave two times overturning previous conclusion regarding the explosion in the so called Egyptian Market in Istanbul.
A number of intellectuals and writers including Yaþar Kemal, Rakel Dink, Oral Çalýþlar, Þanar Yurdatapan, Ahmet Ýnsel and Ferhat Kentel came to the courthouse to give support the young sociologist.
The trial started today for the third time in Ýstanbul 9th High Criminal Court after the decision of acquittal given two times by the relevant local court was reversed by Penal Department No. 9 of the Supreme Court which was also approved by the General Board of Criminal department of Supreme Court.
Before the hearing, a group of around 50 people carrying banners ”We are all witness and still waiting for justice” made a press statement. Among the supporters of Selek coming to the court were German writer Günter Wallraf, German Delegation of PEN International President Christa Schuenke, EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chair Helene Flautre, European Parliamentarian Barbara Lochbihler as well as Turkish writer Yaþar Kemal, Rakel Dink, the wife of Agos Newspaper Chief Editor Hrant Dink who was murdered with an assassination, Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DÝSK) President Süleyman Çelebi, academican Ferhat Kentel, actress Yeþim Büber, writer-journalist Oral Caliþlar, activist Þanar Yurdatapan , director Çayan Demirel, writer-academician Ahmet Ýnsel.
EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chair Helene Flautre said the followings; "Pinar Selek is paying a lot for her will to understand PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and the Kurdish issue in a police state where torture is systematic. We are expecting Selek to be acquitted again on 9 February”. While a large number of people entered the courtroom, a large part of the group is waiting outside fort he court’s conclusion. The trial is being followed by many national and foreign media institutions.
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
Background information:
In 1998 Pinar Selek was arrested for alleged propaganda for PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party); she spent two and a half years in prison where she was severely tortured. It was only in custody that she realized she was being charged with having committed a bomb attack on the Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul on behalf of the PKK. After an eight year trial Pinar was acquitted in 2006. By then, numerous experts had confirmed that the explosion on the Bazaar had not been caused by a bomb but by a faulty liquid gas bottle. The main witness for the prosecution admitted that his testimony was obtained under torture. At the beginning of last year, the case was referred to Ankara ’s Court of Appeals because of alleged procedural errors. There, the acquittal was quashed, against which decision the senior public prosecutor of that same court appealed, saying that as there was no bomb involved in the explosion, it could not have been planted by somebody. However, the court did not accept the appeal of the senior public prosecutor. On 8 February, 2010 the notorious 9th criminal division of the Court of Appeals in Ankara demanded life imprisonment for Pinar Selek.
A number of intellectuals and writers including Yaþar Kemal, Rakel Dink, Oral Çalýþlar, Þanar Yurdatapan, Ahmet Ýnsel and Ferhat Kentel came to the courthouse to give support the young sociologist.
The trial started today for the third time in Ýstanbul 9th High Criminal Court after the decision of acquittal given two times by the relevant local court was reversed by Penal Department No. 9 of the Supreme Court which was also approved by the General Board of Criminal department of Supreme Court.
Before the hearing, a group of around 50 people carrying banners ”We are all witness and still waiting for justice” made a press statement. Among the supporters of Selek coming to the court were German writer Günter Wallraf, German Delegation of PEN International President Christa Schuenke, EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chair Helene Flautre, European Parliamentarian Barbara Lochbihler as well as Turkish writer Yaþar Kemal, Rakel Dink, the wife of Agos Newspaper Chief Editor Hrant Dink who was murdered with an assassination, Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DÝSK) President Süleyman Çelebi, academican Ferhat Kentel, actress Yeþim Büber, writer-journalist Oral Caliþlar, activist Þanar Yurdatapan , director Çayan Demirel, writer-academician Ahmet Ýnsel.
EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chair Helene Flautre said the followings; "Pinar Selek is paying a lot for her will to understand PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) and the Kurdish issue in a police state where torture is systematic. We are expecting Selek to be acquitted again on 9 February”. While a large number of people entered the courtroom, a large part of the group is waiting outside fort he court’s conclusion. The trial is being followed by many national and foreign media institutions.
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
Background information:
In 1998 Pinar Selek was arrested for alleged propaganda for PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party); she spent two and a half years in prison where she was severely tortured. It was only in custody that she realized she was being charged with having committed a bomb attack on the Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul on behalf of the PKK. After an eight year trial Pinar was acquitted in 2006. By then, numerous experts had confirmed that the explosion on the Bazaar had not been caused by a bomb but by a faulty liquid gas bottle. The main witness for the prosecution admitted that his testimony was obtained under torture. At the beginning of last year, the case was referred to Ankara ’s Court of Appeals because of alleged procedural errors. There, the acquittal was quashed, against which decision the senior public prosecutor of that same court appealed, saying that as there was no bomb involved in the explosion, it could not have been planted by somebody. However, the court did not accept the appeal of the senior public prosecutor. On 8 February, 2010 the notorious 9th criminal division of the Court of Appeals in Ankara demanded life imprisonment for Pinar Selek.
