The guest: we stand with Pinar Selek

On June 28, Pinar Selek will be tried for the 5th time by the Turkish state. Twenty-six years ago, in Turkey, Pinar Selek was arrested for her research on the Kurdish resistance.

In accordance with sociological professional ethics, she refuses to reveal the identity of the interviewees: she is tortured and kept in detention. She learns in prison that she is accused of an “attack” that occurred on the spice market in Istanbul: it is in truth an accidental gas explosion. She remained in prison for almost two years.

She was acquitted for the first time in 2006, but the prosecution appealed. The judicial relentlessness begins, with its waltz of trials always leading to acquittals, for lack of proof, but these are overturned and lead to a new judgment… Despite everything, Pinar Selek continues his research and writing work, as well as its commitments at the heart of social movements, organizing in feminist and LGBT+ collectives, and leading major antimilitarist actions.

In 2008, she had to go into exile. She now teaches sociology at university in France and continues to carry out her professional and activist activities despite the constant threat posed to her by the Turkish government and fascists, including on French soil.

As with hundreds of political prisoners, the Turkish government is using her case as an example to try to silence all dissenting voices and political alternatives. On June 28, she will be tried again and risks life in prison.

Globally, we are witnessing the strengthening of an authoritarian right, threats to freedom of expression and research, and increased repression of civil movements. We see how states, multinationals and elites are complicit in defending their interests in the face of mass poverty, climate chaos and massacres.

This dark global situation highlights the key role of defenders of fundamental rights, the counter-power of civil societies and social movements. In this context, perhaps more than ever, our struggles and our analyzes must be rooted in transnational solidarity.

Pinar Selek tirelessly uses his skills for justice, freedom and equality. This is why, despite the multitude of different contexts in which we live and struggle, we recognize that we are part of the same movement, and that the outcome of this trial will determine the political terrain in which we operate in the future .

We call to stand firmly alongside Pinar Selek on June 28, in Istanbul and elsewhere, and to join the transnational campaign for his definitive acquittal, in an effort for collective liberation.

Justice and freedom for Pinar Selek, justice and freedom for all.

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