From Kavel to the Spice Bazaar case... Doyen lawyer Alp Selek passed away

Lawyer Alp Selek, who left important traces in Türkiye's recent history of law and social struggle, passed away at the age of 95. Selek, who has been the lawyer of workers, trade unionists and those tried in political cases since the 1960s, continued to advocate for rights throughout his life.

Açık Gazete announced Selek's death through a message from her daughter, sociologist Pınar Selek. Following the news of his death, condolence messages came from political parties and legal circles.

HE UNDERTAKEN AS THE WORKERS' LAWYER DURING THE KAVEL RESISTANCE

Alp Selek's legal struggle began in the 1960s. Selek was one of the lawyers who took on the defense of the workers who resisted for union rights at the Kavel Cable Factory in 1963 and were subsequently arrested or sued.

Selek, who worked as a lawyer in many cases filed against workers, unionists and members of political movements in the following years, also undertook the defense of the defendants in political cases during the 12 March and 12 September periods.

Selek, who also served in the Workers' Party of Türkiye, was arrested on the grounds that he was one of the party executives after the coup of September 12, 1980, and remained in prison for approximately 4.5 years.

HE ALSO TAKES PART IN THE BAR ASSOCIATION PLATE STRUGGLE

Selek continued his fight for law and the bar association after he was released from prison.

Following his conviction for being a TİP executive, the Ministry of Justice requested that Selek be deleted from the Istanbul Bar Association list. After the management of the Istanbul Bar Association opposed this request, a legal process took place between the Ministry and the bar association.

Selek was re-registered in the bar association list after his legal battle.

HE WAS BY HIS DAUGHTER'S 25-YEAR-OLD STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE

The longest legal struggle of Alp Selek in the last period of his life was the Spice Bazaar case of his daughter Pınar Selek.

Pınar Selek was among the defendants in the lawsuit filed after the explosion in the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul in 1998, in which 7 people died and 127 people were injured.

Throughout the case, different expert reports were prepared regarding the cause of the explosion. Some reports stated that the explosion may have occurred not as a result of a bomb, but as a result of a bottled gas leak.

Although acquittal decisions were given for Pınar Selek on different dates, the trial process continued for years with the decisions being overturned. Alp Selek was among his daughter's lawyers and followed the case until its last years.

LEFT PARTY: “WE WILL KEEP HIS LEGACY ALIVE”

Following the death of Alp Selek, the SOL Party also published a condolence message.

The party described Selek as "the lawyer of workers, laborers and revolutionaries" and drew attention to the defense duties he undertook in the Kavel Resistance case, DİSK cases and political cases during the 12 March and 12 September periods.

In the statement of the SOL Party, it was stated that Selek has an important place in the historical memory of the socialist movement and said, "We will keep the memory, struggle and legacy of Alp Selek alive."