Statement by Günter Grass – Honor President of P.E.N. Germany

It is a scandal that the young Turkish sociologist and writer Pinar Selek, who bravely championed the rights of minorities in her country, has been persecuted by the judiciary power for twelve years now. An even bigger scandal is however, that now, that the Superior Court of Turkey has revoked the two acquittals she already got on the same charges, Pinar Selek is supposed to appear once more at an Istanbul Criminal Court and that she is facing a life sentence, which might consist of 36 years of isolation detainment.