AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

On 28 December 2005, the hearing of sociologist and author Pinar Selek and three others, commenced in the 12th High Criminal Court. The four are charged with working on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and helping to orchestrate the 1998 explosion at the Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul, which left 7 dead and 127 injured. Public prosecutors have demanded a sentence of life in prison.

Pinar Selek was arrested in July 1998 and questioned by the anti-terror unit of law enforcement. Police demanded the names of the PKK members she had interviewed for a book she was writing about militarism and peace in Turkey and Kurdistan (published in May 2004 as Barışamadık). She refused to give any names and was reportedly tortured, including being hung by her arms, beaten, and electroshocked on her temples. Selek was later taken to Bayrampasha prison, where she learned she was being charged with protecting a terrorist organization and helping to organize the 1998 bombing of the Egyptian Bazaar.

Selek was released in 2000 when a committee of experts reported their findings that the explosion was caused, not by a bomb, but by a spark by a liquid petroleum gas cylinder in a nearby snack kiosk. Despite this vindication, she and three other individuals - Alaattin Oget, Isa Kaya and Kadriye Kubra Sevgi - are still being charged in the High Criminal Court (formerly the State Security Court) with crimes relating to this event and being members of the PKK. Under anti-terror legislation in the Turkish Criminal Code, it is illegal to be a member of the PKK, considered by the government to be a terrorist organization. Nonetheless, there does not appear to be any evidence that the defendants in this trial are members of the PKK.

Although Selek was released from prison she has been barred from leaving the country until the conclusion of this trial, which has been ongoing for over 6 years. Before her arrest, Selek lived and worked with street children and wrote two books, one concerning violence against transvestites and one concerning militarism and the obstacles on the way to peace. She graduated with a degree in Sociology from Mimar Sinan University and was a year into master's studies when she was arrested. After her release from prison in 2000, she completed her thesis and received her master's degree. She also founded a women's academy, Amargi, in Istanbul and an alternative history academy in Urfa.

(Sources of information for this case include: American Sociological Association, Hurriyet, Turkish Daily News, Initiative for Freedom of Expression.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 05: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Article 09: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
• Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his [or her] rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him [or her].
• Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
• Article 20(1): Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Requesting the immediate dismissal of charges against Pinar Selek, Alaattin Oget, Isa Kaya and Kadriye Kubra Sevgi, as it appears that they are being persecuted for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Mr. Racep Tayyip Erdogan
Prime Minister of Turkey
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara
Turkey
Fax: 00 90 312 417 0476
erdogan@basbakanlik.gov.tr
Salutation: Dear Mr. Prime Minister

Mr Abdullah Gul
Foreign Minister and state Minister with responsibility for Human Rights
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
06573 Ankara
Turkey
abdullah.gul@basbakanlik.gov.tr
Salutation: Dear Foreign Minister

Mr. Cemil Çiçek
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Adalet Bakanligi
06659 Ankara, Turkey
Fax: + 90 312 418 5667
Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES SENT TO:

Dr. Osman Faruk Logoglu
Ambassador to the U.S.
2525 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: 202 612 6744
ambassador@turkishembassy.org
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Sarah Olmstead, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6787; email shrp@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

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