Court of Cassation General Assembly for Criminal Matters has overturned the ruling of acquittal given for feminist sociologist Pınar Selek in the trial over the Egyptian Bazaar explosion in 1998. “This decision is not only wrong and irrational, but inhumane” Selek says.
In a written statement to BBC Turkish, Selek said, “While there are many scientific reports in the file that the explosion was due to gas leakage, not a single statement was taken from me on this issue, and even a question was not asked, only Abdulmecit Ö. While a lawsuit was filed based on the statement ‘we did it together’, which a person under torture gave but denied in court, this person was acquitted with me, and his acquittal was finalized, that is, only my acquittal was challenged, this decision is not only wrong and irrational, but inhumane.”
Selek continued as follows:
“This decision has nothing to do with the law. Since the detailed ruling has not been made yet, I cannot comment further. I will fight this injustice to the end, we will.”
The “We Are Still Witness” Platform has made a statement regarding the Court of Cassation General Assembly for Criminal Matters’ overturning the ruling of acquittal given for feminist sociologist Pınar Selek in the trial over the Egyptian Bazaar explosion in 1998.
Emphasizing that Selek was acquitted four times for the same case, the statement has said that it is a conspiracy against her, which is still affecting her life:
“The conspiracy against our sociologist-writer friend Pınar Selek is on the agenda once again. Unfortunately, it is regarding the overturning of her acquittal in its 25th year.”
“Four times acquitted”
The statement has said that the ruling was announced by the press before lawyers were informed or it was uploaded to the National Judiciary Informatics System (UYAP), briefly adding the following:
“In the face of this ruling, we would like to remind everyone that this ruling has no standing. Pınar was acquitted four times in the same case. After eight years, they have announced that they have overturned the decision, which can be seen as an operation against Pınar Selek.
“We will follow the case”
“We will follow this process until the end, as always, by fostering the solidarity for our friend and this struggle.
“You cannot touch Pınar Selek’s acquittal. This acquittal is a guarantee for our dream of a life filled with justice, equality, and freedom. We lay claim to the acquittal and our Pınar with the entire dignity stemming from being a human.”
What happened?
Having been tried and acquitted three times in the Egyptian Bazaar Explosion in 1998, Pınar Selek was sentenced to life on January 24, 2013.
Upon her appeal, Supreme Court 9th Penal Chamber overturned the verdict.
On October 3, 2014, the case opened again with the judge ordering the removal of the life sentence and arrest warrant for Selek.
On December 5, 2014, reiterating the former opinion again, the prosecutor demanded aggravated life sentence for Pınar Selek.
Pınar Selek was acquitted for the fourth time in the hearing held on December 19, 2014. The prosecutor appealed the decision on December 22, 2014. The file was sent to Supreme Court General Board.
Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor’s Office demanded that the acquittal decision be reversed. The case, which was sent by penal chambers to each other due to assignment dispute, lastly came to Supreme Court 9th Penal Chamber.
Source: Bianet English, BBC Türkçe