'Endangered Lawyers' Brought into Parliamentary Agenda
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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu has submitted a parliamentary question regarding January 24 Day of the Endangered Lawyer.
CLICK- Day of the Endangered Lawyer Dedicated to Lawyers in Turkey
Tanrıkulu said in his question that The European Democratic Lawyers (AED), the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights (ELDH) and the European Bar Human Rights Institute (IDHAE) dedicated the Day of the Endangered Lawyer to the lawyers in Turkey.
How many lawyers are arrested, how many are convicted?
Tanrıkulu has directed the following questions to Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül:
*How many lawyers are arrested in our country?
*What are the reasons of the lawyers' arrests?
*How many lawyers are convicted in our country?
*How many lawyers are arrested on the charges of "being a member of FETÖ/PDY (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure, allegedly behind the coup attempt on July 15, 2016)", "propagandizing for an illegal organization", how many are arrested because of social media posts, speeches, statements, how many are arrested because of the defenses they raised at trials of their clients?
*What is the number of unconcluded trials against arrested lawyers? How many lawyers are arrested without an indictment?
*How many lawyers are tried without arrest?
Day of the Endangered Lawyer is dedicated to Turkey for second time
Since January 24, 1977, when four attorneys for workers in Madrid were murdered in an incident known as the "Massacre of Atocha", January 24 every year has been commemorated as the Day of the Endangered Lawyer.
This year's Day of the Endangered Lawyers is dedicated to the lawyers in Turkey. The day was also dedicated for lawyers in Turkey in 2012.
In the report of the ELDH, which was entitled "Lawyers in Danger 2019," Diyarbakır Bar Association's late chair Tahir Elçi was commemorated with a message saying, "Solidarity with Turkish and Kurdish lawyers - In memory of Tahir Elçi."
Elçi was assassinated on November 28, 2015, in southeastern Diyarbakır province.
The following lawyers were mentioned in the ELDH's report: Ahmet Mandacı, Akın Atalay, Bülent Utku, Mustafa Kemal Güngör, Aycan Çiçek, Aytaç Ünsal, Behiç Aşçı, Buket Yılmaz, Can Tombil, Engin Gökoğlu, Eren Keskin, Halil İbrahim Vargün, Naim Feyzullah Eminoğlu, Selçuk Kozağaçlı.
Saying that lawyers are accused "just because of practising their profession," the report stated, "The Turkish State systematically violates the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and it is obvious that this violation has direct impacts on the right of defence." (AS/VK)