Turkey Intensifies crackdown on Lawyers, Rights Groups Allege systematic Intimidation
Istanbul, Turkey – A growing number of Turkish lawyers are facing detention and prosecution, sparking alarm from international legal organizations who decry a systematic effort to suppress dissent and undermine the independence of the legal profession. The crackdown, which has seen hundreds of lawyers imprisoned in recent years, is escalating, with recent actions targeting the Istanbul Bar Association and lawyers defending individuals involved in protests.
Twelve legal and human rights organizations Monday denounced the legal proceedings against the Istanbul Bar Association’s executive board as a “direct assault” on the independence of the legal profession.Ayse Bingol Demir, director of the Turkey Human Rights litigation Support Project, stated the proceedings “amount to retaliation for engaging in lawful, rights-based advocacy” and are “part of a broader effort to intimidate the legal profession and silence institutions that challenge state power.”
the pressure extends beyond Istanbul. Seven lawyers defending individuals arrested in Izmir during protests following the removal of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu were detained in March. Goksel Akbaba, one of those arrested, reported he was never informed of the reason for his arrest, adding, “Such methods are used to intimidate lawyers likewise as they are used to intimidate society.”
An international coalition of lawyers, bar associations, and rights groups issued a warning in April, describing the situation as “an affront to the independence of the legal profession and the rule of law” and urging international condemnation of Ankara’s actions.
According to figures from several associations, several hundred lawyers have been imprisoned in recent years, frequently enough facing charges mirroring those of their clients under broad anti-terror legislation widely criticized by human rights groups.
The situation has drawn international rebuke, notably following the death of Ebru Timtik in August 2020. timtik, jailed for “belonging to a terror organisation,” died in an Istanbul prison after a months-long hunger strike demanding a fair trial, prompting the European Union to denounce “serious shortcomings” in Turkey’s justice system.
While some lawyers have been released in the predominantly Kurdish southeast, the French-based DSF-AS (Defense Without Borders-Solidarity with Lawyers) reports “a distressing increase in trials involving Turkish lawyers in the past two years,” indicating “a desire within the Turkish government to bring the legal profession to heel.”
Simultaneously occurring, reports surfaced alleging the deaths of two Turkish journalists of Kurdish origin in northern Syria, with an NGO claiming they were targeted by a Turkish drone - a claim the Turkish military denies.
