After the explosion, which was suspected to have been a PKK attack, Selek was arrested and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
Two and a half years after the incident, in 2000, she was acquitted by the İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court due to lack of evidence. Police reports said the explosion had been caused by a gas leak. However, at the Interior Ministry’s request, a legal expert was assigned to the investigation who drafted a report claiming that the explosion was the result of a bomb, with the case being reopened in 2001.
In 2005, the prosecutors sought life for Selek, but the İstanbul 12th Criminal Court ruled against the demand since the cause of the explosion had not been determined.
However, the 9th Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals on March 10, 2009 reversed the judgment of the İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court. The prosecutor’s office of the Supreme Court of Appeals, in turn, objected to the 9th Chamber’s reversal, on May 4, 2009. On Tuesday the Supreme Court of Appeals General Criminal Council overruled the prosecutor’s office, calling for a retrial.
