Abusive lawsuits against Pınar Selek

1.9.2023

Priority question for written answer  P-002514/2023
to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Rule 138
Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), Marie-Pierre Vedrenne (Renew), Valérie Hayer (Renew), Leila Chaibi (The Left)

Pınar Selek, a Turkish sociologist and feminist who has been living in France as a refugee since 2011 and became a French citizen in 2017, is an activist for peace and the rights of minorities and vulnerable populations. For twenty-five years, she has been a victim of legal persecution by Türkiye, which accuses her of having carried out a terrorist attack in Istanbul in 1998. She was convicted and acquitted by the Istanbul Criminal Court on four occasions between 2006 and 2014.

In June 2022, the Turkish Supreme Court issued a new decree overturning the 2014 acquittal, sentencing Selek to life imprisonment. In March this year, the Istanbul Court of Assize maintained the international arrest warrant issued two months prior requesting her immediate imprisonment. Discussions on the matter have, however, been postponed until 29 September.

In your answer to written question E-002557/2022 on Pınar Selek, you said you would ‘monitor ongoing and upcoming trials and detentions in [Türkiye], and will remain unequivocal in raising its concerns with the Turkish side at all levels’. What steps do you therefore intend to take to ensure that Türkiye fully applies the right to a fair trial, puts an end to its abusive lawsuits and lifts the international arrest warrant that is inhibiting Ms Selek’s freedom of movement and research?

Submitted: 1.9.2023