‘If Lawyers Lose Their Voice, Citizens Lose Their Breath’

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On January 24 Day of the Endangered Lawyers, which has been dedicated to lawyers in Turkey by the European Democratic Lawyers (AED), European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) and European Bar Human Rights Institute (IDHAE), lawyers marched from Galatasaray Square in Beyoğlu to İstanbul Bar Association.

CLICK - Day of the Endangered Lawyer Dedicated to Lawyers in Turkey

The march, which was organized in protest against the attacks directed to lawyers in Turkey, was attended by a large number of people. Lawyers attended the march, wearing their robes.

Led by the İstanbul Bar Association, the protest march was supported by İstanbul Bar Association Chair Mehmet Durakoğlu, Adana Bar Association Chair Veli Küçük, Aydın Bar Association Chair Gökhan Bozkurt, Antalya Bar Association Chair Polat Balkan, Bursa Bar Association Chair Gürkan Altun, İzmir Bar Association Chair Özcan Yücel, Tekirdağ Bar Association Chair Sedat Tekneci, Hatay Bar Association Chair Ekrem Dönmez, Gaziantep Bar Association Chair Bektaş Şarklı, Mersin Bar Association Chair Bilgin Yeşilboğaz and Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Cihan Aydın.

Since five lawyers were murdered in Spain by Francoists on January 24, 1977, this day has marked the "Day of the Endangered Lawyer."

Throughout the march, the group attending the protest carried the photographs of journalist Uğur Mumcu, who was murdered on January 24, 1993, former Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Tahir Elçi, who was murdered on November 28, 2015, and Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) Chair Selçuk Kozağaçlı, who has been behind bars since September 17, 2018.

The group of people attending the march also chanted the slogans, "The advocacy has not kept silent and it will not do so", "Right, law, justice" and "We are Tahir, we are Elçi, we are too numerous to be killed."

Durakoğlu: We were threatened, battered, ordered out of courtrooms, arrested, murdered

After the group reached the İstanbul Bar Association, attorney Mehmet Durakoğlu, the Chair of İstanbul Bar Association, made a statement:

"In no phase of the legal history of Turkey have the lawyers of the country gone through such dangerous times. The processes that we were going through had already been painful and, to top it all, we became the primary target of the State of Emergency regime.

"While we were standing up against the elimination of the right of defense as it was limited by Statutory Decrees, we, as lawyers, were threatened, battered, ordered out of courtrooms at hearings, arrested and, moreover, we became Tahir Elçi and were murdered.

"The lawyers of this country were investigated and arrested because they were equated with their clients and because they represented them.

"Lawyers prevented from fulfilling their duties because they detected torture"

"We have encountered a wide range of such examples from lawyers who were not allowed to meet their clients to the ones forcibly taken out of police stations, from lawyers who were battered in police stations to the ones who were prevented from fulfilling their duties because they detected torture.

"We are declaring from here to the whole world: We will not surrender to any oppression. Threats will not intimidate us. We will always lay claim to democracy and human rights. The breath in voice is the lawyers, but if lawyers lose their voice, citizens lose their breath."

Cihan Aydın: Tahir Elçi murder still unsolved

Making a statement after Adana and Aydın Bar Association Chairs Veli Küçük and Gökhan Bozkurt, Cihan Aydın, the Chair of Diyarbakır Bar Association emphasized that the murder of Tahir Elçi has been the most decisive factor leading to the dedication of this day to Turkey this year:

"It has been 3 years. Not a single step has been taken in Tahir Elçi murder. A murder which took place in front of cameras has still been an unidentified murder today. Stand on our side. We want our voice to be more powerful. We will continue saying, 'Lawyers are under threat.'

"Not only lawyers but also the academics who say that they want peace and the physicians who say that war is a public health problem are under threat. The whole society of Turkey is under threat in a sense." (HA/SD)