Turkey: After the seventh postponement of her trial, sociologist Pinar Selek calls it a “travesty”

The Turkish judiciary contiguous postponed for the seventh consecutive clip the proceedings of French-Turkish sociologist Pinar Selek, who is connected proceedings successful absentia for “terrorism” and who has denounced a “mock trial”, aft a little proceeding that lasted 7 minutes.

Pinar Selek, a 54-year-old world and writer who has fled to France, was arrested, tortured, and jailed successful 1998 portion completing a agelong bid of interviews wrong the Kurdish community.

Selek’s trial, which is postponed each six months, volition resume astatine 13:00 (local clip and Greece time) connected September 18, members of her enactment committee who attended the proceeding successful a tribunal successful Istanbul told Agence France-Presse.

As usual, today’s proceeding ended a fewer minutes aft it began.

Pinar Selek said she was “surprised by the speed” with which the tribunal league ended.

“This caller adjournment shows that they don’t cognize what to do. It is genuinely a travesty,” she told her committee from the office of the League for Human Rights (LDH) successful Paris.

The Turkish judiciary has been prosecuting the researcher, an adept connected Kurdish feminist movements, for astir 28 years and has already acquitted her 4 times.

“The justice said helium was waiting for a effect to an extradition petition from France,” 1 of her supporters, a Turkish quality rights campaigner who asked not to beryllium named, told the French quality agency.

During erstwhile hearings, the tribunal had already said it was waiting for a effect from Interpol, the planetary transgression police, to her extradition request.

Pinar Selek was arrested successful 1998 successful Turkey for her enactment connected the Kurdish assemblage and subsequently accused of being linked to an detonation that claimed the lives of 7 radical successful Istanbul’s spice market.

He was released successful precocious 2000 and initially stayed to combat successful Turkey earlier being forced into exile successful April 2009. She states that she is convinced that if she returns to Turkey, she volition beryllium arrested upon arrival.

For MEP Melissa Camara, a subordinate of the delegation of MPs and academics who arrived successful Istanbul from France, “this umpteenth postponement of Pinar Selek’s proceedings unluckily marks a caller section successful the judicial harassment she faces, which has lone 1 goal, to crush her.”

“I person learned not to springiness up, and I cognize that I volition combat until the extremity of my life. This proceedings is but a portion of my battles,” insisted for her portion Chelek, who lives and teaches successful Nice, wherever she took French citizenship successful 2017.

In summation to her work, she precocious published a postulation of her memoirs entitled “To assistance the head” (“Lever la tête”, published by Université Paris Cité).