Pınar Selek

Pınar Selek (born October 8, 1971) is a Turkish sociologist, feminist, and author.[1] She is known for her work on the rights of vulnerable communities in Turkey, including women, the poor, street children, sexual minorities, and Kurdish communities. She is the author of several books published in Turkish, German, and French, and is one of the founding editors of Amargi, a Turkish feminist journal.[2] She currently resides in France where she obtained academic exile from the universities in Strasbourg then Nice under the French PAUSE program, and later a permanent assistant professor position in sociology at Université Côte d'Azur.[3] She became a French citizen in 2017.[4]

Pınar Selek
Pınar Selek in January 2013
Pınar Selek in January 2013
BornIstanbul, Turkey
OccupationSociologist, author
NationalityTurkish, French
Alma materMimar Sinan Fine Arts University, University of Strasbourg
SubjectMinority rights, Kurdish issue, women's rights

Selek has been prosecuted over a 15-year period in Turkey in connection to an explosion that occurred at the Spice Bazaar, Istanbul in 1998.[5] Tried and acquitted of all charges on four occasions (in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014), her most recent acquittal was amended on June 21, 2022 by the Supreme Court of Turkey which reversed the acquittal and sentenced her to life in prison before the retrial.[6] The retrial was set for March 31, 2023 then pushed back to September 29, 2023.[7]

Education

Selek attended the high school Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul and completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in the sociology department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.[8] In 2014 she obtained a doctorate in political science from the University of Strasbourg.[8]

Arrest, imprisonment, and release, 1998–2000

Pınar Selek was arrested on July 11, 1998, in connection to an explosion that had occurred two days prior at the Spice Bazaar, Istanbul, which had killed seven people and wounded approximately 100 others.[9] The arrest is widely considered to have been motivated by her contact with Kurds as part of her academic research.[10][11] Her work was confiscated, and she refused to name the individuals she had interviewed during the course of her research.[12] Another suspect, Abdülmecit Öztürk, was arrested two weeks after Selek, and confessed to police that the two had carried out the bombing together, although he later recanted his statement and claimed that he had been tortured in police custody.[13][14] Öztürk was later acquitted of all charges, and his statement against Selek was ruled as inadmissible.[15][16]

After spending two and a half years in prison, during which time she was subject to torture and ill-treatment,[17] Selek was released on December 22, 2000, when a team of experts, including faculty from Istanbul University's Analytic Chemistry Department and Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty's Forensic Department,[18] issued reports concluding that the explosion had been caused by the accidental ignition of a gas cylinder.[19][20] Three expert witnesses assigned by the court also testified that the explosion was caused by a gas leak.[21]

Acquittals, retrial, and sentencing, 2006–present
Pınar Selek and Günter Wallraff at a press conference in Strasbourg following her sentencing on January 25, 2013.

The Istanbul High Criminal Court No. 12 acquitted Selek of wrongdoing on four occasions (in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014), citing a lack of any evidence linking her to the blast.[22] Nonetheless, the court decided on November 22, 2012, to amend its own prior acquittal decisions and reopen her trial, a move which her defense lawyers labeled as "unprecedented in Turkish legal history."[23]

On January 24, 2013, after just over an hour of deliberation, the court sentenced her to life in prison for the 1998 spice bazaar bombing.[24] The decision was reached by majority of two to one, with the head judge in the case issuing a dissenting opinion.[25] While Selek was tried in absentia, more than 30 nongovernmental organizations and political party representatives from France, Germany, Italy, and Austria attended the hearings, and nearly 150 people protested during the trial.[26] Four observers from the University of Strasbourg, including the vice rector, also attended the trial.[27]

After a fourth acquittal on December 19, 2014, the Supreme Court of Turkey reversed the acquittal on June 21, 2022, immediately sentencing Pinar Selek to life in prison. The retrial was set for March 31, 2023, and was attended by a delegation of a hundred lawyers, politicians, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations, from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway and Turkey. [28] After the hearing - in which lawyers contested the illegal procedure of the Supreme Court cancelling an acquittal and emitting a new sentence without new evidence or trial - a new trial date was set for September 29, 2023. [29]

Support from academic institutions and international organizations
Pınar Selek (center) at a press conference in Strasbourg on January 25, 2013. The banner reads: "Freedom for research. Freedom for Pinar!!!"

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Commissioner for Human Rights of the European Council[30] and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) have called on Turkish authorities to end the 14-year "judicial harassment" of Selek, as this seems " to merely aim at sanctioning her for her legitimate exercise of the freedom of opinion and expression."[31] PEN International has expressed outrage and concern and argued that the judicial campaign against Selek seeks to penalize her for her "long standing support for and work on minority groups in Turkey."[32] The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) has expressed its support for Selek and dismay at the prolonged denial of justice she has been subject to.[33] In a letter addressed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, MESA's Committee on Academic Freedom asserted that: "all of the circumstances attendant to her case suggest that Selek has been on trial for the last fourteen years for her research on the PKK in violation of her right to academic freedom."[34] Human Rights Watch has called her prosecution a "perversion of the criminal justice system and abuse of due process," and insisted that the "baseless charges should be dropped once and for all."[35] Turkish journalist Cengiz Çandar called the January 2013 ruling a "travesty" and a "disgraceful judgment."[36]

Other organizations that have voiced solidarity with Selek include Amnesty International,[37] the Transnational Work Group on Academic Liberty and Freedom of Research in Turkey,[38] the French Sociological Association,[39][40] the French Political Science Association,[41] or the Committee of Concerned Scientists.[42]

Alain Beretz, president of the University of Strasbourg, has espoused the university's solidarity with Selek, calling her life imprisonment conviction "unjust and revolting."[43][44] Université Côte d'Azur has publicly stated its "unwavering support" for Selek and the values and academic freedoms her case represents.[45] A collective of academics from France have called her sentencing an attack on the independence of social sciences.[46]

At press conferences following each verdict, Selek has vowed to continue her struggle for justice.[47][48]

Publications

In 1996 she translated Ya Basta into Turkish.[8] It is a collection of letters from the leader of the Zapatistas Subcomandante Marcos.[8] In 2001 Maskeler Süvariler Gacılar was published which focused on the lives of the trans community.[8] She has also published five books and novels in French between 2012 and 2022,[49] as well as two children's books.[8]

See also

References
  1. Kerem Öktem (September 15, 2008), "Another Struggle: Sexual Identity Politics in Unsettled Turkey" Archived October 17, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Middle East Research and Information Project. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  2. Amargi Istanbul – Pınar Selek. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  3. Valérie Erlich, Fanny Jedlicki, Pascale Laborier, Sylvie Monchatre, Pascale Laborier (March 29, 2023). "Debate: The case of Pinar Selek is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by academics in Turkey and around the world". The Conversation. Retrieved July 19, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Alet-les-Bains: Pinar Selek guest of the Friends of François de Ravignan, L'Indépendant, 2019, retrieved November 23, 2020
  5. Kaya Genc (February 1, 2013), "Why was this Turkish sociologist given a life sentence?" Archived June 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. UNCUT Archived August 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  6. SCF (March 24, 2023). "Author, sociologist Selek says won't return to Turkey to stand trial: report". Stockholm Center for Freedom. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  7. Valérie Erlich, Fanny Jedlicki, Pascale Laborier, Sylvie Monchatre, Pascale Laborier (March 29, 2023). "Debate: The case of Pinar Selek is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by academics in Turkey and around the world". The Conversation. Retrieved July 17, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Who's who in Politics in Turkey" (PDF). Heinrich Böll Stiftung. pp. 215–216. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  9. Baran Mavzer (January 27, 2013), "Pınar Selek Issued a Life Sentence after 15 Year Trial". Global Voices. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  10. Editorial (2011). "Rights for all". Nature. 470 (7335): 436. Bibcode:2011Natur.470..436.. doi:10.1038/470436a. PMID 21350442.
  11. Maureen Freely (2012). "Crossing the Line". Index on Censorship. 41 (3): 56–65. doi:10.1177/0306422012456477. S2CID 148073684.
  12. Erdem Güneş (January 24, 2013). "Sociologist Selek handed life in prison for alleged bombing". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  13. Baran Mavzer (January 27, 2013), "Pınar Selek Issued a Life Sentence after 15 Year Trial". Global Voices. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  14. International Federation for Human Rights Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (January 25, 2013), "TURKEY: Outrage following the conviction of Pinar Selek to life imprisonment". Paris-Geneva. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  15. Cengiz Çandar (January 28, 2013). "Selek Case a Travesty For Turkish Judiciary". Al-Monitor. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  16. Human Rights Watch (February 8, 2011), "Turkey: Activist’s Trial a Travesty of Justice: Drop All Charges Against Pınar Selek". Istanbul. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  17. International Federation for Human Rights Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (January 25, 2013), "TURKEY: Outrage following the conviction of Pinar Selek to life imprisonment". Paris-Geneva. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  18. "Sociologist Pinar Selek sentenced lifetime prison for bombing claims". National Turk. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  19. PEN International (December 12, 2012), "News: TURKEY – PEN International Concerned About Pinar Selek Trial" Archived May 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  20. "Turkish sociologist sentenced to life for 'terrorism'". Istanbul. FOCUS Information Agency. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  21. Erdem Güneş (January 24, 2013). "Sociologist Selek handed life in prison for alleged bombing". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  22. World Organisation Against Torture, "Turkey: Continued judicial harassment faced by Ms. Pinar Selek". Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  23. International Federation for Human Rights Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (November 27, 2012), "TURKEY: Judicial harassment of Pinar Selek continues as Istanbul Heavy Penal Court decides to amend her acquittal and request her conviction". Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  24. "Turkish sociologist sentenced to life for 'terrorism'". Istanbul. FOCUS Information Agency. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  25. Çiçek Tahaoğlu (January 24, 2013), "Pinar Selek Receives Life Sentence". Bianet. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  26. "Sociologist Pinar Selek sentenced lifetime prison for bombing claims". National Turk. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  27. Erdem Güneş (January 24, 2013), "Pınar Selek back on trial again in absentia". Istanbul. Hurriyet Daily News. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  28. "« En condamnant Pinar Selek, c'est à l'indépendance de la recherche en sciences sociales que s'attaque le gouvernement turc »". Le Monde.fr (in French). July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  29. AFP (March 31, 2023). "Turkish exile faces fifth trial over deadly 1998 blast". RFI. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  30. "Les autorités turques doivent protéger les libertés démocratiques - Commissaire aux droits de l'homme - www.coe.int". Commissaire aux droits de l'homme (in French). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  31. International Federation for Human Rights Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (November 27, 2012), "TURKEY: Judicial harassment of Pinar Selek continues as Istanbul Heavy Penal Court decides to amend her acquittal and request her conviction". Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  32. PEN International (December 12, 2012), "News: TURKEY – PEN International Concerned About Pinar Selek Trial" Archived May 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  33. Peter Sluglett, Middle East Studies Association Committee on Academic Freedom Archived January 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (December 25, 2012), "Letter Concerning Prolonged Denial of Justice for Pinar Selek". Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  34. Middle East Studies Association Archived March 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (December 12, 2012). "Letters on Turkey". Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  35. Human Rights Watch (February 8, 2011). "Turkey: Activist's Trial a Travesty of Justice". Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  36. Cengiz Çandar (January 28, 2013). "Selek Case a Travesty For Turkish Judiciary". Al-Monitor. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  37. Amnesty International (January 22, 2013). "Kafka in Turkish: The Pınar Selek Trial". Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  38. GIT-North America (November 27, 2012). "On the Case of Pınar Selek". Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  39. "L'AFS exprime son soutien à Pinar Selek | Association Française de Sociologie". www.afs-socio.fr. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
  40. "AFS | Soutien à Pinar Selek" (in French). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  41. "72 heures de Solidarité avec Pinar Selek du 29 au 31 mars 2023 | Association Française de Science Politique" (in French). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  42. Committee of Concerned Scientists (April 5, 2013). "CCS Joins Amnesty's Campaign on Turkey's Lack of Due Process and Free Expression for Academics". Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  43. Alain Beretz (January 24, 2013), "Un jugement injuste et révoltant : Pinar Selek doit vivre en chercheuse libre!". (in French). University of Strasbourg. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  44. Pinar Selek website (in Turkish), "Declaration by the President of the University of Strasbourg Raising support for PhD. student Pinar Selek". Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  45. Sanfilippo, Delphine. "Université Côte d'Azur reaffirms its support for Professor Pinar Selek". Newsroom. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  46. "« En condamnant Pinar Selek, c'est à l'indépendance de la recherche en sciences sociales que s'attaque le gouvernement turc »". Le Monde.fr (in French). July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  47. Selek, Pinar (March 31, 2023). "Turquie : « Ce procès dure depuis 25 ans, c'est la moitié de ma vie », Pinar Selek – Pinar Selek" (in French). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  48. Pinar Selek website (in Turkish) (January 25, 2013), "Freedom to Research, Freedom to Pınar!". Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  49. Selek, Pinar (June 22, 2022). "Livres – Pinar Selek" (in French). Retrieved July 17, 2023.
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