Çetin Özek (1934

Çorum Çorum () (Medieval Greek: Ευχάνεια, romanized: Euchaneia) is a northern Anatolian city that is the capital of the Çorum Province of Turkey. Çorum is located inland in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey, and is approximately from A ...

, Turkey – 16 July 2008

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

) 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 Law School in 1956. He was an instructor in criminal law at the same university for five years before receiving his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

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: ...

titled about secularism in Turkey, 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, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

state scholarship. Back to Istanbul University, he became a lecturer in 1968, and spent 1969 to 1970 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 ( tr, Danıştay) 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 ...

( 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 ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...

'', '' Milliyet'' 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

values and a strong critic of rising Islamist or Islamic-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 criminal law, freedom of the press and

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

, 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 Galatasaray University ( tr, Galatasaray Üniversitesi, french: Université Galatasaray) is a Turkish university established in İstanbul, Turkey in 1992, following an agreement signed in the presence of President François Mitterrand of France ...

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 that s ...

, 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