The Supreme Court overturns life sentence against Pinar Selek - Pinar Selek to be re-tried for the 5th time
On June 11, 2014, the Criminal Chamber No. 9 of the Supreme Court decided to overturn thedecision of a lower court to sentence to life imprisonment Ms. Pınar Selek,an academic known for her commitment towards the rights of vulnerablecommunities in Turkey. The court argued that Istanbul Special Heavy CriminalCourt No. 12 had violated procedural rules, by revoking its own decision ofacquittal while the case had already been transferred for review to a highercourt.
“The Pınar Selek case illustrates a 16-year long relentless andvain harassment aiming at putting on the dock the prominent sociologist at thecost of the right to a fair trial. The decision of the Supreme Court is aconsequence of this unthinkable drift. We should not only welcome thispromising judgement, but also call on the Prosecutor of Istanbul to drop allcharges against her”, said FIDH PresidentKarim Lahidji.
“Countlessprocedural irregularities were observed during the quashed trial: violation ofthe prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, conviction based on inadmissibleevidence including statements elicited by coercion, infringement of resjudicata principle, violation of the right to be tried within a reasonabletime, etc. The Supreme Court should not only have overturned the sentence butalso confirmed the initial acquittal decision”, said Martin Pradel, Lawyer at the Paris Bar, trial observer for theObservatory.
In 1998, Ms. Pınar Selek wasaccused of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and, subsequently andwithout evidence, of causing a bomb to explode in Istanbul’s Egyptian bazaar onJuly 9 of the same year. On the basis of these accusations, she was detained duringtwo years and subjected to torture and ill-treatment, until her provisionalrelease in 2000. The Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 12 acquitted her on threeoccasions: in 2006, 2008, and 2011. Notwithstanding, the Supreme Court quashedthe first two acquittal decisions. On January 24, 2013, the Istanbul SpecialHeavy Criminal Court No. 12 decided todefer to the Supreme Court's request to convict and sentence Ms. Pınar Selek tolife imprisonment, though the case was still pending before the SupremeCourt. TheSupreme Court referred the case back to lower courts for trial.
It isworth mentioning that the lower courts which had previously tried Ms. Selek,and held extraordinary powers (the Special Criminal Courts), were suppressed in2014 on the occasion of a reform of the Penal Procedure Code, followingcondemnations for violations of the right to a fair trial by the European Courtof Human Rights.
“The judicial system should prove that this importantreform is not just cosmetic and that Turkish citizens can effectively enjoy theright to a fair trial within a reasonable time, away from the games of politics”, said OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock. “Moreover,we recall that the criminalcase has failed to demonstrate that Ms. Pınar Selek was involved in anyterrorism-related activity. Consequently she should be definitely acquitted”, he further urged.
For more information seeObservatory mission report available in English on the following web links:
http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/obsreporttur2014eng.pdf
http://www.omct.org/files/2014/04/22642/turkey_mission_report_pinar_selek_2014.pdf