Honourable Minister Ergin,
In our position as spokesperson on foreign affairs and human rights for the Green groups in the Austrian and European Parliament, we are writing to ...strongly protest the life sentence pronounced against Pinar Selek on January 24, 2013 by the Çağlayan Courts of Justice.
Selek was arrested in July 1998 for her alleged involvement in an explosion in an Istanbul market, causing several deaths and many injuries. She was freed two and a half years later after a team of experts concluded that the explosion had not been caused by a bomb, but by the accidental ignition of a gas cylinder. Regardless of these findings, the case against Selek and her co-defendants continued. Despite three previous acquittals by Turkish courts for her alleged involvement in the explosion more than 14 years ago, Selek was retried, in absentia, in December 2012 and given a life sentence on January 24, 2013. An arrest warrant has been issued against her.
No evidence has been presented that shows Selek to have engaged in violent activities. Moreover, we are concerned by allegations that Selek, during her imprisonment from 1998-2000, suffered torture under investigation in an attempt to make her confess to the charges.
On these grounds we are urging you to ensure that the charges against Selek are dismissed, and that the arrest warrant against her be removed, enabling her to return to Turkey without fear of detention.
Sincerely,
Alev Korun
Member of the Austrian Parliament, Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Human Rights
Ulrike Lunacek
Member of the European Parliament, Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs
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