The trial in Istanbul of the Turkish sociologist and writer who took refuge in Nice Pinar Selek, prosecuted for twenty-six years in Turkey for “terrorism” despite four acquittals, has been postponed until February 7, 2025.
The trial in Istanbul of Pinar Selek has been postponed until February 7, 2025. The Turkish sociologist and writer, who has taken refuge in France, has been prosecuted for twenty-six years in Turkey for “terrorism” despite four acquittals in these proceedings.
Bahri Bayram Belen, one of the defense lawyers, affirmed during a brief hearing this Friday, June 28, that “faux” documents had been added to the file, judging that “some administrative institutions are trying to influence the judiciary”.
Pinar Selek, 52, who now teaches at the university in Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes, was arrested in Turkey in 1998 for her work on the Kurdish community, before being accused of being linked to an explosion which had just left seven dead at the spice bazaar in Istanbul.
An expert report showed that the tragedy was due to the accidental explosion of a gas cylinder but the prosecutions did not stop, despite his four acquittals in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2014.
Released at the end of 2000, Pinar Selek remained fighting in Turkey for a time, before threats following the publication of a book pushed her into exile.
“It’s a Kafkaesque trial. I’m faced with irrationality, and after twenty-six years, I refuse to get used to it.”declared to AFP Pinar Selek, targeted by an international arrest warrant which limits her possibilities of travel.
As during the two previous hearings last year, an international delegation of around fifty people, mostly lawyers, attended the brief debates on Friday.
