A new hearing is to be held in order to complete the procedural deficiencies in the court cases that have now been combined with the Spice Bazaar case, from which sociologist-writer Pınar Selek has already been acquitted three times. This hearing shall take place on Wednesday, the 1st of August, 2012, at 10.00 am, in the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court, which is within the Caglayan Court House.
This court case is being continued, as a kind of psychological torture, for the past fourteen years even though Pınar Selek has been acquitted over and over again. As may be recalled, during the most recent hearing of this torturous case, the Prosecution gave a new dictum and asked for an aggravated life sentence. This “null and void” dictum received a very negative reaction from legal authorities as well as the general public.
We are currently living in a period in which various developments that damage Turkey’s democracy by way of law are on the rise. We are aware that, in this present context, there may be further attempts to wear Pınar Selek down, and destroy her reputation. In light of this, we believe in the importance of repeating and renewing our solidarity. Pınar Selek continued her scientific research on issues that were taken to be dangerous and taboo, while never for a second giving up her anti-milistarist and peaceful stance, and for this, over the past fourteen years she has been surrounded by false images of herself, direct interventions in her case, spoiled evidence, slander and calumny. These attempts, which may even be seen as character assasination, were never able to succeed, thanks to the sensibility of the public and Pınar Selek’s clear and transparent stance.
Now, once again, we shall take part in the hearing on the 1st of August, in order to collectively demand a final and conclusive acquittal for Pınar Selek, once and for all. We will continue our struggle for justice, with patience and determination, until the very end.
The ‘We Are Still Witness’ Platform