The trial of sociologist Pınar Selek, who was tried in the Egyptian Bazaar case and had her acquittal overturned for the fourth time in June 2022, was held today at Istanbul 15th Heavy Penal Court.
The trial was also attended by lawyers, union representatives, and human rights advocates from France.
Pınar Selek's lawyer and father, Alp Selek, spoke first at the beginning of the hearing: "A baby born when this trial started grew up, became a lawyer, and defended Pınar. We are not obliged to make a defense about this case, which was opened based on false documents. According to the Red Notice, we have to wait for Pınar's statement. This is an unjust trial. A trial that wears people down and exhausts them."
The lawyer of the second defendant, Abdülmecit Öztürk requested the lifting of the arrest warrant for his client. He asked for the reasons behind this decision. The judge said, "The decision has been announced."
"Pınar is a symbol for us"
Then, Françoise Cotta, a lawyer from the Lawyers Without Borders group from France, said the following: "We come from Lawyers Without Borders. Pınar Selek is a symbol for us. For us, there are no limits to defending freedoms. We came here for justice for Pınar Selek. We are also here for other lawyers who are imprisoned in Turkey. We want them to be released too."
"A person cannot be tried multiple times"
Etihane Lesage, the president of Lawyers Without Borders, also said: "We come here mostly for the trials of lawyers. Today, we are here due to an exceptional situation. For the first time, we came for an academic who is not a lawyer. A person cannot be tried multiple times. What should happen is an acquittal."
The prosecutor said, "There is nothing to say about the statements made. After the trial of the defendants, we request the continuation of the Red Notice decision for Pınar Selek and the execution of the arrest warrant for the defendant Abdülmecit Öztürk on behalf of the public." The trial prosecutor also requested waiting for the implementation of the Red Notice decision and the completion of other deficiencies. Interim decisions The presiding judge announced the interim decision:
The arrest warrant for the defendant Pınar Selek will continue;
It will be possible to make an objection to Istanbul 16th Criminal Court within seven days;
A Red Notice has been issued for Pınar Selek;
The arrest warrant for the defendant Abdülmecit Öztürk will continue;
The trial is adjourned until June 28, 2024.
Judge to Cotta: Judges speak through their decisions
Françoise Cotta, a lawyer from Lawyers Without Borders group from France, spoke again: "As Alp Bey [Pınar Selek's father] said, this trial has been going on for many years. How many more years will you continue this trial? We will come again. We came to the last hearing as well."
The judge responded, "Judges speak through their decisions."
Police prevented the statement
Before the trial, the police prevented lawyers and the We are Still Witness (Hala Tanığız) Platform from making a statement in the courtyard of the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan, saying, "There is a ban order from Kağıthane District Governorate."
"25 years, 4 acquittals"
Therefore the human rights advocates and lawyers made their statement on the stairs in front of the courthouse.
Speaking here, Karin Karakaşlı from the We are Still Witness Platform said: "We do not even know how many press statements we have made before this one. Moreover, how many struggles have been simultaneously fought in a country where the legal ground has disappeared."
"Shall we talk with numbers? Zero crime, 25 years, 4 acquittals equal the Pınar Selek case. 25 years, 4 acquittals, and the torture built upon the overturning of the acquittal each time."
"A determined legal crime against a person for her scientific work and stance began in extraordinary conditions in the 90s. They turned a gas leak into a bomb. They surrounded an antimilitarist, anti-violence, feminist, and activist sociologist with the conspiracy they called a bomb. Outdated records of statements without lawyers and fake evidence have been debunked for years. The truth has been declared four times. Now, as if we've spoken to the wall, the same verdict is in front of us after 25 years. We are here again."
"Look, here today, there is also a large delegation among us, where Pınar's life intersects, a large delegation that has come here to show solidarity with her and us. Members of parliament, deputy mayors, academics, feminists, writers, artists, scientists are here with us to show solidarity. Of course, we are where we should be. We are here to be worthy of Pınar, who can contain the whole world in her heart, into her country."
"We know very well what Pınar's crime is. She is guilty because she allowed all those the state politics made invisible and silenced to directly express themselves."
"She is guilty of asking why we couldn't make peace, for touching on any issue, from women's rights to the LGBTI+ movement, from Kurdish and Armenian issues to street children and immigration policies. She is guilty of uniting and bringing people together. We are here to say that these are not crimes but only goodness.'
"When we set out as the We Are Still Witness Platform, we did not anticipate how this name would turn into a dark humor. We were witnesses to Pınar's work, personality, and existence, which multiplied all of us as she wove networks. But then we found ourselves as witnesses to this legal crime. Being a witness is a responsibility. We are here to fulfill that responsibility once again."
"In a period that corresponds to Turkey's recent history, such as 25 years, enforced disappearances, bombings, unresolved murders, and massacres left to the statute of limitations were fought, and are still being fought, with struggles that are interconnected. Just yesterday, during our meeting with the delegation, we were shaken by the unbelievable sentences handed down in the Gezi Resistance case. Life flows here with struggles that are intertwined with each other, with life pumping through every vein."
"They cannot diminish Pınar for us, and we cannot diminish her acquittal. How many times can a person be tried for a crime they did not commit, and how many times can they be acquitted? It is irreversible; we look at the final acquittal as if it were our own eyes. It is also our dream of a life and a country founded on justice, freedom, and equality. This is where arithmetic ends. We are demanding accountability for life. We are demanding accountability for the truth. And of course, we will win."
Supporters from France
Françoise Cotta (Lawyers Without Borders); Roya Citoyenne, Guido Ehrler (Swiss Democratic Lawyers); Pierre Guillon, Alice Lamailloux (France Lawyers Syndicate); Pierre-Ann Laugery (Former President of the Hauts de Seine Bar Association); Etienne Lesage (Lawyers Without Borders); Lina Sinan (France Lawyers Syndicate).