2 Arrested Lawyers from Progressive Lawyers Association Go on a Death Fast

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Making a statement via the Internet yesterday (April 5), the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) has announced that lawyer Ebru Timtik, an executive of the Association, and lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, a member of the Association, have gone on a death fast in prison.

Arrested lawyers from the ÇHD were on a hunger strike for the right to a fair trial. While Timtik had been on a hunger strike for 94 days when she turned her strike into a death fast, Ünsal was on the 63rd day.

'April 5 is not a day of celebration, but struggle'

The ÇHD has briefly stated the following:

"While we were writing this statement, the number of people who had lost their lives due to COVID-19 across the world was announced as 54 thousand 226 and Helin Bölek from Grup Yorum breathed her last. These deaths have a connection, they are all part of capitalism's massacre. This system is massacring us, all of us, in one way or another.

"Today is April 5, the lawyers' day in Turkey. Our eight colleagues, including the chair of our association, are still behind bars. Our opportunities to meet them are being restricted day by day. Four of them have been on a hunger strike until today. We are worried about their health and they are worried about the health of us, their families and clients.

"The demands of our colleagues are quite clear. We have been sharing them since the first day. In a nutshell, they demand justice! Wİth this demand, Ebru Timtik has been on a hunger strike for over 90 days and Aytaç Ünsal, Oya Aslan and Barkın Timtik have been for over 60 days.

"As for the government, it has been adding new rings to the circle of injustice, let alone meeting the demands. They are debating a so-called law on criminal enforcement. Our friends and thousands of political arrestees and convicts are being excluded, they want to condemn them to death in prisons deprived of any protective mechanisms against coronavirus.

"At this current stage, Ebru Timtik and Aytaç Ünsal, lawyers from the ÇHD, have decided to turn their hunger strike into a death fast.

"Not accepting any celebrations, we are reminding all legal institutions that April 5 is a day of struggle!" (AS/SD)