LGBT Organizations in Turkey: Struggle for Peace is being punished through Pınar Selek

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) organizations in Turkey made a joint press release last night about the news related to sociologist Pınar Selek being on “red notice”.

 

Titled as “Anyone who seeks freedom is being punished through Pınar Selek”, the release states that LGBT organizations will be in Ankara during trial.

Sociologist Pınar Selek has been prosecuted for over 15 years in the Spice Bazaar case* that she was tried and acquitted of all charges on three occasions. However, her most recent acquittal was amended in last year by the Istanbul High Criminal Court Chamber 12, which sentenced her to aggravated life imprisonment with no new evidence on January 24, 2013. The latest action against her has been the demand for a “red notice.”

 

Hâlâ Tanığız Platformu (We’re Still Witnesses Platform), a solidarity group of individual and institutional supporters of Pınar Selek, announced that unless Interpol accepts the demand for a red notice, the notive will not be effective. The Platform evaluates the news on the notice as a means “to wear Pınar Selek down once more.”

LGBTI organizations in Turkey made a press release, calling everyone to follow Pınar Selek case for “peace, humanity, justice and freedom”:

“The headline “Red notice issued for Pınar Selek” circulated on news sites on August 27, 2013. A close reading of the news reveals that the Istanbul High Criminal Court Chamber 12 has applied to the Ministry of Justice for a red notice request for Pınar Selek in spite of the annotation put by the chief justice.

 

The horror continues… Sociologist Pınar Selek is still being punished for asking the questions nobody dared to ask during the 90’s when there was no movement towards peace. As our country’s agenda was being determined by those who chose wars and death, one sociologist stood against guns with her questions and pointed to the other side where non-violence exists. Selek is still being targeted for this stance. Selek has been purposefully selected and subjected to a harsh judicial treatment because of her works on Kurds.

 

Selek showed that a state of war exists, not only during armed conflict, but also in all kinds of relations that produce violence, which have permeated our everyday lives and society. She is morally opposed to all kind of wars, does not adhere to the simple dichotomies of right and wrong, and shoulders the responsibility of a feasible solution. The case of Pınar Selek is an intimidation tactic to prevent and punish all those who seek justice and freedom.”

 

Lawyers of Pınar Selek has applied for the High Court and they are waiting for a date in the Court of Appeal.

 

Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi Grey, Bilgi University LGBT Rainbow Club, Black Pink Triangle Izmir Association, Boğaziçi University LGBT – LuBUnya, Hebun LGBT Association Diyarbakır, Hêvi LGBT Initiative, Istanbul Bears, Istanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association, Istanbul University LGBT- IU Radar, Istanbul Technical University Student Organization Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Sexism, Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (Kaos GL), Keskesor LGBT Initiative Diyarbakır, Lambdaistanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association, LeGeBit Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Study Group, LISTAG Families of LGBTs in Istanbul, Marmara Üniversitesi LGBT MadiMar, Middle Eastern Technical University LGBT, Mimar Sinan School of Fine Arts- Flu Baykuş, Queer Adana, Red Umbrella Association of Sexual Health and Human Rights, Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD), Trans Block, Trans Consultation Center Association (T-Der), Yeditepe Gender Studies and Student Organization Against Discrimination.

 

Pınar Selek is a sociologist, feminist, anti-militarist, and author. She has been studying, publishing, and working on the rights of the oppressed and vulnerable communities such as homeless children, sex workers, sexual minorities and in particular, transgender people, Romani people, and the Kurds. Several books by Selek have been published in Turkish, German, and French. She is also one of the founding editors of Turkish feminist journal called Amargi. Selek has been prosecuted for over 15 years in Turkey in connection to an explosion in the Spice Bazaar, Istanbul on July 9, 1998, which killed 7 people and injured more than 120. Tried and acquitted of all charges on three occasions (in 2006, 2008, and 2011), her most recent acquittal was amended in November 2012 by the Istanbul High Criminal Court Chamber 12, which sentenced her to aggravated life imprisonment with no new evidence on January 24, 2013. Her lawyers have appealed the verdict and declared plans to bring her case before the European Court of Human Rights. Selek currently lives in Strasbourg, France and is pursuing her doctoral thesis at Strasbourg University.

 

Translation of the release: LGBTI News Turkey