Turkey: The judicial harassment of Pinar Selek must end

Turkey: The judicial harassment of Pinar Selek must end

Paris-Geneva, November 20, 2012. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), calls once more for the acquittal of Ms. Pinar Selek, who has been victim of judicial harassment for 14 years.

On November 22, 2012, the Twelfth Chamber of the Istanbul High Criminal Court is due to examine for the umpteenth time the criminal case pending against Ms. Pinar Selek, a writer and sociologist who has been actively defending the rights of vulnerable communities in Turkey since. In 1998, she was falsely accused of causing a bomb to explode in Istanbul’s Egyptian bazaar on July 9 of the same year, and of being a member of a terrorist organisation for that purpose. On the basis of these accusations, Ms. Pinar Selek was  detained and subjected to acts of torture and ill-treatment until her provisional release in 2000.

While the court’s investigations largely confirmed the absence of a bomb and the absence of evidence incriminating Ms. Selek, Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 12 acquitted Ms. Selek three times (2006, 2008 and 2011). Nonetheless, following appeals by the General Prosecutor, the Court of Cassation consistently quashed the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court's decision. On March 7, 2012, the General Prosecutor requested the Court to sentence Ms. Pinar Selek to life time imprisonment. Therefore, Ms. Selek has been subjected to an uninterrupted judicial harassment for more than 14 years.

Under the threat of arbitrary arrest and detention at any time, Ms. Pinar Selek has been impeded to resume her life and work in Turkey. The Observatory therefore once again urges the Turkish authorities to immediately and unconditionally put an end to the relentless judicial harassment that has been targeting Ms. Pinar Selek for more than 14 years, as it seems to merely aim at sanctioning her for her continuing advocacy for the respect of human rights in Turkey.

The Observatory further denounces the unacceptable delays in rendering justice, which amount to a denial of justice, and blatantly contravene to the right to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time, as provided by the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) binding Turkey.

For further information, please contact:

• FIDH: Arthur Manet / Audrey Couprie: + 33 1 43 55 25 18

• OMCT: Delphine Reculeau: + 41 22 809 49 39