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Joint Statement on the Arrest and Detention of Lawyer Ruken Gülağacı

The undersigned bar associations and lawyers’ rights organisations express their deep concern over the detention of lawyer Ruken Gülağacı on 20 May 2025. On 21 May, the Criminal Peace Judgeship issued a house arrest order against Ms Gülağacı—an alarming escalation that further compounds our concern.


Ms Gülağacı is a member of the Istanbul Bar Association and an executive board member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (Özgürlük için Hukukçular Derneği – ÖHD), and frequently represents academics, lawyers, and Kurdish politicians. She is also an active member of the Foundation for Society and Legal Studies (TOHAV), a board member of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), and a dedicated advocate for human rights in Türkiye.


On the evening of 20 May 2025, Ms Gülağacı was arrested by police officers while visiting Kandıra Prison to meet with her client. She was detained overnight at the police station and transferred the next day to Çağlayan Courthouse, where she gave her statement before the Prosecutor at approximately 3 PM local time. According to the lawyers accompanying Ms Gülağacı, the Prosecutor’s questioning directly targeted her professional activities. She was interrogated about the clients she represents and her meetings with them—actions that are part and parcel of a lawyer’s core duties. It was evident that her lawful professional work, and by extension her right to freedom of expression and association, was being criminalised.


Following her interrogation, the Prosecutor referred Ms Gülağacı to the Criminal Peace Judgeship with a request for judicial control in the form of house arrest. A house arrest order was then issued in absentia, without her being brought before a judge, and solely on the basis of documents. No written justification was provided for this decision, in direct contradiction with Constitutional Court precedent and despite the explicit request of her defence counsel for her to appear in person. This ruling, rendered without even the minimal procedural guarantees, will be remembered as a grave breach of judicial independence and a stain on the rule of law.


We are deeply concerned that Ms Gülağacı’s arrest and ongoing restriction of liberty are directly linked to her work as a lawyer. The identification of Ms Gülağacı with her clients or their causes is a violation of international standards protecting the independence of the legal profession.


Further procedural irregularities cast doubt on the fairness of the proceedings: Ms Gülağacı was not allowed to defend herself in person before the court; and she was arrested without prior formal notification, despite being a practicing lawyer who attends court daily. These factors alone render the arrest procedure defective from the outset and raise serious concerns regarding the right to a fair trial.


These events unfold amidst a broader and troubling context. Türkiye is currently witnessing an unprecedented crackdown on the legal profession and civil society. In the wake of mass protests following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, hundreds of demonstrators have been detained, often without access to legal counsel or procedural safeguards. The legal representation of political dissidents is increasingly treated as a criminal act in itself.


The measures taken against Ms Gülağacı constitute a direct and dangerous interference with the right to legal defence, impede access to justice, and further criminalise the work of lawyers representing dissenting voices. This marks a deepening erosion of the guarantees of a fair trial and the rule of law.


As a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, Türkiye is obligated to ensure that no one is subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention and that any deprivation of liberty is lawful and justified. Fair trial rights, including the presumption of innocence and access to legal representation, must be upheld at all times.

In line with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers:
• Principle 16 affirms that lawyers must be able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.
• Principle 18 provides that lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.
We, the undersigned, call on the Turkish authorities to:
• Immediately and unconditionally lift the order of house arrest against Ruken Gülağacı and the release of all other lawyers detained solely for performing their professional duties;
• Ensure that pre-trial detention and house arrest are applied only as exceptional measures of last resort, with full respect for due process and the right to be heard before a judge;
• End all forms of harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary detention targeting lawyers, and refrain from unlawfully identifying lawyers with their clients or their clients’ political or social positions;
• Promptly sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, thereby reinforcing its commitment to the international legal framework governing the independence and protection of legal professionals.

We will continue to closely monitor the case of Ms Gülağacı and the broader situation facing the legal profession in Türkiye.


Signatories:
• Asociación de Derecho Penitenciario “Rebeca Santamalia” – Estado español (ASDEPRES)
• Asociación Libre de Abogacia (ALA) (Spain)
• Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (APDHA)
• Avocats Européens Démocrates – European Democratic Lawyers
• Bologna Bar Association (Italy)
• CCBE – Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
• Cooperative of Women Lawyers in Barcelona (IACTA)
• Cyprus Democratic Lawyers Association (CDLA)
• Défense Sans Frontière – Avocats Solidaires.
• Democratic Jurists (Italy)
• Democratic Lawyers of Switzerland (DJS-JDS)
• Deutscher Anwaltverein (German Bar Association)
• European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
• Euskal Herriko Giza eskubideen Behatokia ( Basque Country)
• Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer (the Netherlands)
• Lawyer Leonardo Arnau, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee of Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italy)
• Il Centro di Ricerca ed Elaborazione per la Democrazia ( CRED) (Italy)
• Institut des Droits de l’Homme du Barreau de Montpellier (France)
• Institute for the Rule of Law of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA-IROL)
• International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
• International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD)
• Lawyers for Lawyers (the Netherlands)
• Legal Centre Lesvos, (Greece)
• Legal Team Italia
• Le SAD – Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie (Belgium)
• MAF-DAD – Association for Democracy and International Law e.V. (Germany)
• Osservatorio Avvocati Minacciati (Italy)
• Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein (RAV e.V.) (Germany)
• Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland
• The Defence Commission of the Barcelona Bar Association
• The Law Society of England and Wales (UK)
• The Norwegian Bar Association
• Turkey Litigation Support Project (TLSP)
• Turin Bar Association (Italy)
• Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane (UCPI)
• Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen e.V. (VDJ) (Germany)
• Vereniging Sociale Advocatuur Nederland (VSAN) (the Netherlands)

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Turkey must do its part to achieve peace following Abdullah Öcalan’s call!

There is a historic opportunity for lasting peace for Turkey and the region. Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace and a democratic society, shared with the public on February 27, 2025, is a critical step towards ending the long-standing conflict and violence and
initiating a democratic resolution process. This call not only carries great potential for the stability and protection of human rights in Turkey but also for the entire region.


Peace is one of the most fundamental values of humanity and is at the forefront of the universal principles that form the basis of international law. It is also an indispensable necessity for everyone to fully benefit from human rights. As a state,
Turkey must fulfil its responsibilities to its own people and the people of the region, meet its obligations arising from international law, and take the necessary steps to
establish peace.


In this process, creating conditions that will allow Abdullah Öcalan’s active participation in the peace process is of great importance. This not only ensures the protection of his fundamental rights, including the right to communicate with the
outside world and the ‘right to hope’ in response to over 25 years of imprisonment but also provides a significant opportunity for the implementation of democratization and the principles of the rule of law.


According to the United Nations Right to Peace Declaration, the establishment of peace requires ensuring equality, justice, and the supremacy of law; it necessitates building a society free from fear and deprivation, and free from discrimination. Accordingly, it is essential for Turkey to quickly review its penal laws, anti-terrorism laws, and similar regulations in the light of the decisions and recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights and international legal mechanisms, and to implement the necessary reforms. Ensuring judicial independence must be one of the cornerstones of this process. Additionally, for the achievement of societal peace, Turkish authorities need to plan and implement necessary regulations concerning political prisoners in jails.

Furthermore, cultural and social adjustments should be made in line with the necessities of a pluralistic society, and an environment where everyone has equal rights should be created.
In essence, the state of Turkey and the Turkish people are faced with a historic peace opportunity after a conflict process that has lasted 50 years. Authorities are obligated to ensure the cessation of arms and to establish an environment where the people of Turkey can enjoy peace and tranquillity with equal rights and freedoms.

We, the undersigned legal organizations, call on Turkey and all actors of peace to seize this historic opportunity and take the steps required by the peace process. Every step taken towards peace and the strengthening of human rights, justice, and democracy not only holds great importance for the future of Turkey but for the entire region as well. The construction of peace is our common responsibility. In this context, we call on all international public opinion to support the peace call and take an active role in fulfilling the requirements of this call.

There is a historic opportunity for lasting peace for Turkey and the region. Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace and a democratic society, shared with the public on February 27, 2025, is a critical step towards ending the long-standing conflict and violence and
initiating a democratic resolution process. This call not only carries great potential for the stability and protection of human rights in Turkey but also for the entire region. Peace is one of the most fundamental values of humanity and is at the forefront of the universal principles that form the basis of international law. It is also an indispensable necessity for everyone to fully benefit from human rights. As a state, Turkey must fulfil its responsibilities to its own people and the people of the region, meet its obligations arising from international law, and take the necessary steps to establish peace.


In this process, creating conditions that will allow Abdullah Öcalan’s active participation in the peace process is of great importance. This not only ensures the protection of his fundamental rights, including the right to communicate with the
outside world and the ‘right to hope’ in response to over 25 years of imprisonment but also provides a significant opportunity for the implementation of democratization and the principles of the rule of law.


According to the United Nations Right to Peace Declaration, the establishment of peace requires ensuring equality, justice, and the supremacy of law; it necessitates building a society free from fear and deprivation, and free from discrimination.
Accordingly, it is essential for Turkey to quickly review its penal laws, anti-terrorism laws, and similar regulations in the light of the decisions and recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights and international legal mechanisms, and to
implement the necessary reforms. Ensuring judicial independence must be one of the cornerstones of this process.
Additionally, for the achievement of societal peace, Turkish authorities need to plan and implement necessary regulations concerning political prisoners in jails.


Furthermore, cultural and social adjustments should be made in line with the necessities of a pluralistic society, and an environment where everyone has equal rights should be created.
In essence, the state of Turkey and the Turkish people are faced with a historic peace opportunity after a conflict process that has lasted 50 years. Authorities are obligated to ensure the cessation of arms and to establish an environment where the people of Turkey can enjoy peace and tranquillity with equal rights and freedoms.


We, the undersigned legal organizations, call on Turkey and all actors of peace to seize this historic opportunity and take the steps required by the peace process. Every step taken towards peace and the strengthening of human rights, justice, and democracy not only holds great importance for the future of Turkey but for the entire region as well.
The construction of peace is our common responsibility. In this context, we call on all international public opinion to support the peace call and take an active role in fulfilling the requirements of this call.

Turkey must do its part to achieve peace following Abdullah Öcalan’s call!

Asociación Americana de Juristas
Association for Democracy and International Law (Maf-Dad)
Democratic Jurists, Italy (Giuristi Democratici)
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
European Democratic Lawyers (AED)
Giza Eskubideen Behatokia (Observatory of Human Rights) Basque Country
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
Legal Centre Lesvos
Legal Team Italia
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), Philippines
Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland
Swiss Democratic Lawyers
The Defence Commission of the Barcelona Bar
The National Association of Democratic Lawyers (South Africa)

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Criminalisation of Lawyers in Turkey- Report by ÖHD (Lawyers for Freedom) and Diyarbakir Lawyers’ Bar Association

In the morning hours of the 25th of April 2023, during a wide police operation, 191 people, including 25 lawyers and other members of civil society in Turkey were arrested and their houses searched.

Of the 25 lawyers initially arrested, 16 have been released under judicial control, following deposition and interrogation procedures. 4 lawyers are still under dentention. All of these lawyers have been criminalized for the practice of their profession and linked them, without proof, to the crimes against their clients.

Following these events, the Diyarbakir bar association and OHD (the Association of Lawyers for Freedom) have compiled a report, concluding that targeting defense lawyers in investagions of the prosecution, devoid of legal basis, undermines an important mechanism that guarantees the right to a fair trial.

AIM

This report aims at compiling all violations to the right to a fair trial and is to be used as the basis to make the required national and international legal applications and criminal complaints.

Read the whole report