Sociologist Pınar Selek sentenced to life in prison

24 January 2013 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL, – Pınar Selek, a sociologist and author suspected of helping to bomb İstanbul’s Spice Bazaar in 1998, was sentenced to life in prison by the İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court on Thursday.

Selek, whose case has now lasted for over 14 years, was acquitted for the third time on Feb. 9, 2011, by the İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court but this decision was recently overturned by the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Her retrial began last year. A prosecutor spearheading the investigation into the deadly explosion at İstanbul’s Spice Bazaar in 1998 last year demanded life imprisonment for sociologist Selek. The court decision came at a time when Selek’s trial has come into the spotlight in Europe. The İstanbul court also issued an arrest warrant for Selek, who has stayed out of Turkey to evade the legal process.