On the occasion of Lawyers’ Day in Turkey (5th April), the Italian National Bar Council (Il Consiglio Nazionale Forense) published our report in English and Italian.
Unjust / Wrongful Convictions
Report update: Mass Prosecution of Lawyers in Turkey (2016-2020)
According to report, since 2016’s coup attempt, there has been a relentless campaign of arrests which has targeted fellow lawyers across the country. As of February 2020, more than 1500 lawyers have been prosecuted and 605 lawyers arrested (remanded to pretrial detention). So far, 345 lawyers have been sentenced to 2158 years in prison on the grounds of membership of an armed terrorism organization or of spreading terrorist propaganda.
Bar Associations of Turkey: Turkey has become the largest prisoner of lawyers
Turkey | 25 Bar Associations made a 7-article declaration:
i. The Council of Judges and Prosecutors has entirely politicized,
ii. Turkey is experiencing the most severe judicial crisis of its history,
iii. Turkey has become the largest prisoner of lawyers.
Diyarbakir Court sentences thirteen lawyers to 38-month incarceration
On 17 February, 2020, the Diyarbakir Heavy Penal Code sentenced thirteen lawyers to thirty seven months and fifteen days of incarceration.
If the judgment is upheld by the Appeal Court, the lawyers will be incarcerated and disbarred.
Turkish Bar Associations call for resignation of the members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors
On 21 February 2020, thirty bar associations called for the resignation of the members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) over its systematic intervention into the judicial process and (re)detention of individuals even before or just after their release. The latest instance was replacing three judges and initiating an investigation against them who acquitted Osman Kavala and others in conformity with the judgment of European Court of Human Rights.
