ÇİÇEK TAHAOĞLU
This year, sociologist Pınar Selek faced her sixth trial after the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned a previous verdict. The case accused her of involvement in a Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) bombing. Selek spent 2.5 years in prison, was acquitted four times, and received one sentence of aggravated life imprisonment.
The trial started 24 years ago at the Istanbul State Security Court (DGM). Due to judicial system reform, the DGMs were dissolved, and the case was moved to the Special Authorized Court and later to the High Criminal Court following another judicial reform.
Her sister Seyda Selek, who grew up during this period, graduated from law school and has been one of Pınar Selek's lawyers for many years, says in statements he has been making for years: "We have been repeating the same thing for a long time. We no longer expect justice in this case. We expect the victimization to end."
These are the major updates since the start of the case, which is one of Turkey's longest trials.
Selek, a sociologist and lecturer at Cote d'Azur University in France, is an advocate for various social issues and writes novels.
Explosion at the Spice Bazaar
On July 9, 1998, an explosion took place in the Spice Bazaar in Eminönü, one of the oldest and most touristic covered bazaars in Istanbul. Seven people were killed and 127 injured in the explosion at a food kiosk at the entrance of the bazaar.
The newspapers reported the explosion was caused by bottled gas, according to the then Minister of Interior, Murat Başesgioğlu.
Crime scene reports: No evidence of a bomb
A team of eight bomb disposal experts reported that no bomb or explosive material was found at the scene.
A detailed examination of the samples from the scene revealed no evidence of a bomb.
The Police Crime Scene Investigation Final Report dated July 20, 1998, stated that no bomb was found, including the Police Crime Scene Investigation minutes and the Criminal Police Laboratory Directorate Expertise Report.
Selek asked about his research on the Kurdish issue
On July 11, 1998, Pınar Selek was detained and asked to reveal the names of people she had interviewed for her research on the Kurdish issue during her one-week detention, which began two days after the incident.
She could not get the assistance of a lawyer and was severely tortured; her left arm was dislocated in a Palestinian sling. On July 13, a police report stated that Selek "fell on his left arm in custody."
On July 14, 1998, the Criminal Laboratory reported no evidence of a bomb in the explosion.
On July 18, 1998, Selek was arrested by the State Security Court (DGM) military judge on charges of membership in an illegal organization. A case was filed against Selek on charges of "membership in an illegal organization."
Witness statements turned out to be untrue
A statement was taken from Abdülmecit Öztürk about a month after the incident. He confessed to carrying out the bombing of the Egyptian Bazaar with Selek.
Öztürk reported to the prosecutor's office three days later that his police statement had been taken under torture and that he had no knowledge or involvement in the bombing. However, an addition to the same statement, made without the prosecutor's signature, stated, "Öztürk applied 15 minutes later to change his statement and declared that the police statement was correct".
On that day, Öztürk's aunt Ş.G. was also questioned and her statement was recorded. Written in Turkish, Ş.G.'s statement confirmed that the girl who visited her house was the same girl in the photograph. Öztürk introduced her as his fiancée, but Ş.G. did not know her name. They went to a room and locked the door, but she was unaware of what happened inside.
When summoned to court two years later, Ş.G. revealed that she did not speak Turkish. During the hearing, she communicated through an interpreter, stating that she could neither read nor write. She claimed to have simply pressed her finger on a piece of paper without knowing what was written on it. Additionally, she denied knowing Selek.
Öztürk also repeated in all the hearings that he did not know Selek.
The accusation against Selek was solely based on Öztürk's statement during the investigation. There was no other evidence linking the explosion to Pınar Selek.
The prosecution presented additional evidence to support their claim about the explosion. They submitted an expert report, dated November 1998, which was prepared by a committee led by Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy. The report stated that traces of nitrocellulose were found at the scene, indicating that a bomb could have caused the explosion.
During subsequent interviews with Vatan, Taraf, and CNNTÜRK, Atasoy clarified that their report did not confirm the use of a bomb as the cause of the explosion. The report instead contained scientific guidelines on the methods to be used in determining the cause and manner of the explosion. There was no mention of a bomb in the report.
During the search of Selek's art workshop for street children, it was claimed that explosives were discovered. However, it was later discovered that the explosives had already been in the possession of the police for destruction, 22 hours prior to the workshop search and 13 hours before Selek was arrested.
"'Leyla' code name Pınar Selek"
Several months later, 15 individuals, including Pınar Selek, were indicted for their involvement in the Egyptian Bazaar explosion. Among them, Selek and four others were accused of committing actions aimed at disrupting the unity of the state, which could result in the death penalty under Article 125 of the previous Turkish Penal Code.
While Selek was in prison on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization", she found out from watching television news that he had been implicated in the explosion. During a press conference, Istanbul Police Chief Hasan Özdemir disclosed that they had captured 19 members of the organization, which included Pınar Selek (codenamed Leyla) and Abdülmecit Öztürk, who had allegedly placed the bomb in the kiosk.
Expert reports: No evidence of a bomb
The trial of Pınar Selek, defended by her father Alp Selek and other lawyers, started at Istanbul State Security Court No. 4 (DGM) in 1999.
Numerous reports from experts were presented during the court proceedings, and both the defendants and witnesses were given a chance to speak.
According to reports from the Analytical Chemistry Department at Istanbul University and the Forensic Medicine report from Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, the expert report provided by the prosecution was found to be incorrect and lacking in scientific evidence. Both reports concluded that the explosion was actually caused by a gas leak from a cylinder.
According to the head of bomb disposal at the Istanbul Anti-Terror Branch Directorate, who testified in court, their investigations and examinations of the scene did not reveal any evidence of a bomb. They explained that if a bomb had caused the explosion, there would have been a visible hole at the site, which they did not find. The chief noted that a gas leak from a cylinder can also cause such an explosion by spreading to the floor. They further added that if it were a bomb, it would have created a hole of at least 50 cm in diameter, as all bombs create a hole upon exploding.
The superintendent reported that they had found no empty cylinders; all of them were full. They were puzzled about how the owner had managed to prepare doner kebab and hot food without the use of any cylinders up until that point.
In the report by a court-appointed expert committee of university faculty members, it was concluded that the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder and not a bomb.
Released after 2.5 years
On December 22, 2000, Selek was released from her 2.5 years of arrest after the court ruled unanimously. Judge Vedat Abdurrahmanoğlu wished her well.
Selek was greeted by street children and transgender people in front of the prison, in addition to his family and press members.
In April 2001, the Ministry of Interior and the Istanbul Security Directorate, who were not involved in the case, submitted an expert report without a signature or date to the court. The report claimed that a bomb caused the explosion and requested the formation of a new expert panel. The court approved the request.
New expert reports
According to reports from the 1st Specialized Department of the Forensic Medicine Institute in April 2001 and the General Board of Forensic Medicine in January 2002, there was no evidence of a bomb found during the examination of the deceased and injured.
The Interior and Security Forces requested an expert report in July 2002, which concluded that a bomb caused the explosion. However, the report did not provide details about the bomb's characteristics.
In the expert report from July 2002, the court concluded that a gas leak caused the explosion.
In a report from December 2002, the METU Electrical and Electronics Engineering committee used video processing technology to determine that the explosion occurred inside the lahmacun oven.
Acquittal eight years after the explosion
Selek went through a trial that lasted for eight years, and during this time, the DGMs were abolished through a legal change. The courts authorized under Article 250 of the Criminal Procedure Code replaced the DGMs. As a result, the Istanbul DGM No. 4 was renamed the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court.
Meanwhile, Selek's younger sister, Seyda Selek, became a lawyer and started attending the hearings as Pınar's lawyer on September 8, 2004.
Selek and Öztürk were acquitted by the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court on July 8, 2006. The cause of the explosion could not be determined conclusively, and therefore, they were not held responsible. The charge of "membership in a terrorist organization" was time-barred, and as a result, they were cleared of any involvement. However, the other defendants were sentenced to different prison terms on additional charges.
The court's reasoned decision noted 14 expert reports with contradictions and no confirmation.
25 years, four acquittals, one life sentence
The prosecution appealed the verdict, and subsequently overturned by the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. The reason was that Selek had allegedly contacted members of an armed terrorist organization and planted a bomb in line with their purpose, all under the guise of conducting sociological research.
Since then, the case has been retried several times. The Court of Cassation overturned the verdicts each time.
Pınar Selek was acquitted three times, first in 2006, then on May 23, 2008, and finally on February 9, 2011. Öztürk's acquittal verdict was finalized in 2008 as no appeal was made.
After the Court of Cassation reversed its decision, the case proceeded with a red notice for Selek's extradition from France. On November 23, 2013, Selek received a sentence of aggravated life imprisonment, which the Court of Cassation later overturned.
The courts with special authorization were abolished during the process, so the case file was transferred to the Istanbul 15th High Criminal Court. On December 19, 2014, Selek was acquitted for the fourth time, and the arrest warrant against him was lifted.
The file spent eight years traveling between the Supreme Court of Appeals chambers.
The file was passed back and forth between the chambers of the Court of Cassation for years following the appeal of the 2014 verdict.
The file was initially sent to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation. Later, it was transferred to the 16th Criminal Chamber, which handles cases previously managed by the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. After the 16th Criminal Chamber ruled it lacked jurisdiction, the file was returned to the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. Finally, it was forwarded to the Board of Presidents of the Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation following the 9th Criminal Chamber's decision of non-jurisdiction.
In December 2017, the Board of Presidents for the Criminal Chambers of the Court of Cassation granted permission for the 9th Criminal Chamber to review a previously decided case based on it being a "judgment rendered upon a decision of resistance." The new panel of the 9th Chamber, which had once determined it did not have the authority to review the case, sent it to the Criminal General Assembly of the Court of Cassation in February 2018 with the recommendation that the acquittal be overturned.
The Criminal General Assembly of the Court of Cassation overturned Selek's acquittal on June 21, 2022, and ruled that she should be sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. A red bulletin has been issued for Selek, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Öztürk, whose acquittal was finalized years ago.
The sixth trial of Selek began at the 15th High Criminal Court following the decision of the Criminal General Assembly of the Court of Cassation.
During the first hearing on March 31, 2023, the 25-year-long trial reached another stalemate. Selek had requested that his testimony be taken in France, but the court rejected this and instead mandated that he be extradited to Turkey for his testimony.
An arrest warrant and a red notice were issued in January 2023 for Selek, who resides outside the country.
The upcoming court session for the trial of Pınar Selek and Abdülmecit Öztürk is set for September 29. They are facing charges of attempting to separate a part of the state's territory from state administration, unauthorized possession or exchange of dangerous substances, and membership in an illegal armed organization.
