European Democratic Lawyers
Urgent international call for the immediate release of lawyers and ÇHD-members Atty. Ezgi Önalan, Atty.Yunus Emre Işık, Boran Işıldak, Burhan Can, Halil Arbağ and Atty. Özge Usanmaz — as well as Atty.Doğa İncesu, Atty. Semra Demir and Atty. Kürşat Bafra. 7 July 2026 We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our grave concern regarding the latest detentions inTurkey targeting lawyers, […]
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We, the undersigned organizations, formally express our grave concern regarding the arbitrary placement in police custody of lawyer Veysi Çetin, Secretary of the İzmir Branch of the Progressive Lawyers Association (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği | ÇHD). Atty. Çetin was taken into police custody on 1 July 2026, during a pre-dawn raid in Çanakkale, where he was attending an international youth event […]
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We, the undersigned organizations, express our deep concern over the simultaneous pre-dawnpolice raids conducted in Ankara and Istanbul on the morning of June 23, 2026, which resulted in numerous individuals being taken into police custody, including three lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD). Lawyer Doğa İncesu, a member of the ÇHD Istanbul Branch, along with lawyers Semra Demir and […]
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European Democratic Lawyers (AED/EDL) welcomes the adoption one year ago of the European Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer (Luxembourg Convention) as a historic achievement for the legal profession, the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights throughout Europe. This long-awaited instrument was adopted in response to an increasingly alarming reality: lawyers across Europe and […]
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12 June 2026 Today, the European Pact on Migration and Asylum enters into force. Behind the rhetoric of “orderly migration management” and “European solidarity”, this Pact in fact entrenches a policy of suspicion, detention and exclusion directed at migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. European Democratic Lawyers (AED/EDL) denounces a reform that marks a deeply troubling turning point in the history […]
Read more39 organisations, including bar associations, lawyers’ groups, judges’ associations and human rights organisations, condemn the Tunisian authorities’ escalating and systematic campaign of intimidation, obstruction and retaliation against lawyers, judges, the Tunisian National Bar Association, magistrates’ associations and independent civil society organisations in the country. Since President Saïed’s consolidation of executive power in 2021 and the summary dismissal of 57 judges […]
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The European Democratic Lawyers (AED -EDL), The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & Human Rights (ELDH) and the Internal Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) express their deep concern regarding the arrest of two Dutch lawyers during a peaceful protest near the Dutch Parliament (Tweede Kamer) in The Hague. According to reports, the lawyers were participating as legal observers in […]
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Since 2010, the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer has been observed annually on 24 January, organised first by the AED-EDL and then by the Coalition for the Endangered Lawyer, a network of national and international legal organisations and bar associations. The day aims to draw attention to the plight faced by lawyers in the exercise of their profession in […]
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À l’attention des barreaux, associations d’avocats et organisations professionnelles européennes démocrates, Nous prenons acte avec la plus grande préoccupation du procès imminent de M. Ahmed Souab, ancien magistrat puis avocat tunisien, dont l’audience est fixée à la date du 31 octobre 2025 devant le tribunal de première instance de Tunis. Titulaire du prix Prix Ebru Timtik 2025 pour son engagement […]
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Defending human rights is not an act of treason or terrorism. Lawyers, activists, and ordinary citizens who raise their voices in support of dignity, justice and accountability deserve protection, not persecution. European democratic values are measured by how we protect the voices that challenge power, expose injustice, and defend the rights of the oppressed. In the face of what is […]
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