Çetin Özek (1934

Çorum Çorum () is a northern Anatolian city in Turkey. Çorum is located inland in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey and is approximately from Ankara and from Istanbul. It is the seat of Çorum Province and of Çorum District.< ...

, Turkey – 16 July 2008

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) was a prominent Turkish university professor of criminal law, jurist, author and journalist. Çetin Özek graduated from Istanbul's respected Pertevniyal High School in 1952 and from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

Law School in 1956. He was an instructor in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

at the same university for five years before receiving his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1961, with a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

titled about

secularism in Turkey In Turkey, secularism or laicism (see ''laïcité'') was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of Turk ...

, a subject on which he was going to be known to feel strongly during his entire life. Between 1962 and 1964, he attended the "Scuola di Perfezionamento di Diritto Penale" at the University of Rome through an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

state scholarship. Back to Istanbul University, he became a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

in 1968, and spent 1969 to 1970 in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for further studies. Current politics became a decisive factor in his career when he was dismissed from Istanbul University's academic staff following the 1971 "Coup by Memorandum" in Turkey. He could later annul the dismissal through a decision of the

Turkish Council of State The Council of State () is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is located in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts. According to Article 155 o ...

() and, once back to university, he became a professor in 1978. In 1983, in conflict with Turkey's newly founded " Council of Higher Education" (YÖK), Özek demissioned from his position at the university, and pursued a career focused on journalism and on legal counselling. He worked for the newspapers ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

'', ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...

'' and '' Günaydın'', both as columnist and as consultant. He returned to the university to demission again in 1999, this time in conflict with the rector. In the meantime, he pursued his primary profession of lawyer, in the frame of which he sometimes assumed cases, which acquired notoriety and had repercussions. He was also deeply involved in politics, making a name as a staunch supporter of Republican values and a strong critic of rising Islamist or

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic-tainted movements. Özek retired from his university career in 2002, although he remained active as a writer. In addition to a dozen books he wrote on matters such as

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

and

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

, a

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

to his honor was published by prominent jurists from Galatasaray University in 2004. Çetin Özek died on 16 July 2008 at the age of 74 in Istanbul after a long lasting illness. Following a religious funeral at

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque () is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque t ...

, he was laid to rest at the Kozlu Cemetery. He is survived by his daughters Ayşe Özek Karasu, manager of foreign news at ''Hürriyet''and Zeynep Özek, tv producer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozek, Cetin 1934 births 2008 deaths People from Çorum 20th-century Turkish lawyers Turkish legal writers Turkish journalists Turkish columnists Hürriyet people Milliyet people Pertevniyal High School alumni Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Sapienza University of Rome alumni Günaydın (newspaper) people 20th-century Turkish journalists