Lawyers investigated for monitoring Pride march in Aydın
Prosecutors in Aydın, western Turkey, have opened an investigation against six lawyers who monitored a Jun 14 Pride march in the resort town of Kuşadası to provide legal assistance to participants.
The lawyers, including Aydın Bar Association Vice Chair Ayşe Öğünçlü, have been summoned to give statements.
The bar association condemned the investigation, stating that legal assistance and human rights advocacy cannot be treated as criminal acts. It said the lawyers were at the march to observe potential rights violations, provide legal support to citizens, and monitor police actions.
The bar association described the investigation as the product of an "unacceptable mentality" that criminalizes the work of lawyers, the duty of bar associations to protect human rights, and the legal support provided to citizens.
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"It is not a crime for a lawyer to be present where a rights violation is possible," the statement said. "It is not a crime for a lawyer to provide legal support to a citizen. It is not a crime for a lawyer to observe police actions. It is not a crime for bar associations to defend fundamental rights and freedoms."
The bar emphasized that the right to peaceful assembly and demonstration is constitutionally guaranteed and that the presence of lawyers at such events is a requirement of the right to defense.
"The defense has not been silenced, and it will not be silenced," the statement concluded.
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(TY/VK)