Court lifts warrant for sociologist Pınar Selek

ISTANBUL

Pınar Selek has long fought a Sisyphean battle against the Turkish justice system to clear her name over a 1998 explosion that many experts say was caused by a gas leak, not a bomb.

An Istanbul court has lifted a warrant issued for sociologist Pınar Selek, who was convicted for allegedly being involved in the bombing of Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar in 1998.

The Istanbul 15th Court of Serious Crimes also ruled to implement a previous decision by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals that had overturned a previous aggravated life sentence given to the academic.

Public prosecutors have been given time to make a response as the next hearing will be held Dec. 5.

The feminist scholar, who resides in Strasbourg and is known for her works on Kurds, was convicted of bombing Istanbul’s famous Spice Bazaar in 1998 and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment last year, despite being acquitted of the same charge three times in the past.

The sentence had sparked wide controversy, as an expert report had stated that the explosion, which killed seven people, was actually caused by a gas leak.

Selek was also tried and convicted in 2012 for being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) under the code name “Leyla,” but was acquitted three times in subsequent appeals.