Çetin Özek (1934 Çorum, Turkey – 16 July 2008 Istanbul) was a prominent Turkish university professor of criminal law, jurist, author and journalist. Çetin Özek graduated from Istanbul's respected

Pertevniyal High School Pertevniyal High School of Istanbul was founded in 1872 by Pertevniyal Sultan, the mother of Sultan Abdulaziz. It cost 3520 gold coins to build the school. The school was forced to relocate after the fire of 1911, which destroyed much of downtown ...

in 1952 and from

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

Law School in 1956. He was an instructor in

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

at the same university for five years before receiving his doctorate in 1961, with a thesis titled about

secularism in Turkey Secularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism or Laicism (or ''laïcité'') was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision de ...

, 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 state scholarship. Back to Istanbul University, he became a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, 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. T ...

in 1968, and spent 1969 to 1970 in England 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 ( tr, Danıştay) 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'', ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish 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 ...

'' and ''

Günaydın Günaydın is a Turkish surname, literally “good morning”. Notable people with the surname include: *Dilara Buse Günaydın (born 1989), Turkish female swimmer *Engin Günaydın (born 1972), Turkish actor and comedian *Erol Günaydın Erol ...

'', 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 (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

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 News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

and secularism, a festschrift 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, 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 journalists