The ECBA participated to a Legal Fact Finding mission in Istanbul from 15 to 20 September 2021, through its HR Committee member Maria Hessen Jacobsen from the Norwegian Bar Association.
Among other monitoring activities, she observed a hearing in the trial against Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD) members Barkin Timtik and Selçuk Kozağaçlı.
The ECBA signed the press release regarding the mass trials against lawyers in Turkey, together with other European colleagues. As the CoE Human Rights Commissioner stated after the death of hunger striking CHD member Ebru Timtik in August 2020, the ECBA believes that the lawyers in CHD are targeted by criminal proceedings in connection with the exercise of their professional activities.
We stand in solidarity with our Turkish colleagues, demanding a fair trial and that Turkish authorities respect the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
International observers on their way to the Istanbul Court House
Kandira high security prison for women
Maria Hessen Jacobsen (Norway), ECBA Human Rights Committee member and Mehmet Durakoğlu,
President of the Istanbul Bar Association
