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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For years, these lawyers have faced politically motivated prosecutions in Turkey, marked by flagrant violations of international fair trial standards. They were arrested, tried, and convicted on charges largely derived from their professional duties as defence lawyers, such as attending human rights protests, defending political opponents, or advising clients on their right to remain silent. Different fact-finding missions have documented […]
Read moreThe 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 […]
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AED- EDL firmly condemns the revocation of the Istanbul Bar President İbrahim Kaboğlu, and the dissolution of the Board for alleged acts of terrorist propaganda. This dissolution follows the judicial procedure initiated on January 14, 2025 by the Istanbul Prosecutor General in retaliation for the statement issued by the Bar Association on December 21, 2024 condemning the deaths of […]
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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 […]
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The undersigned organizations vehemently condemn the detention of Attorney Şiar Rişvanoğlu, who is registered with the Adana Bar Association and a member of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD), following a police raid on his residence and subsequent arrest at the Çukurova airport in Tarsus. On the morning of 26 November 2024, authorities executed a raid at Attorney Rişvanoğlu’s home without […]
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We, the AED-EDL European Lawyers’ Association, have come to know that on the 25th of October, lawyer Bedirhan Sarsılmaz was taken into custody. At the moment of his detention, lawyer Bedirhan Sarsılmaz, had just finished his plea as part of the defense counsel of his client and was exercising his profession. Lawyer Bedirhan Sarsılmaz of the Istanbul bar association, is […]
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The General Assembly of the European Democratic Lawyers (AED), which took place on February 16-17 2024, marked the beginning of a new era in the fight for fundamental principles such as the rule of law, human rights, and fair trial. During this critical period, for the first time in the history of AED, a figure who had not previously served […]
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Between 6 and 10 November 2023, an international delegation representing 27 law societies, bar associations, human rights groups and legal groups undertook a fact-finding mission to Turkey to interview eight lawyers who have been arrested and detained in circumstances that raise a range of human rights concerns. The delegation also observed two court hearings, the first concerning the criminal proceedings […]
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