Human Rights Watch has examined the lawsuits filed against 168 lawyers in Turkey within the last three years and launched a report, entitled, “Lawyers and Right to Defense Under Attack in Turkey.” The report reveals that judicial authorities made connections between the lawyers and the offenses of their clients; targeting them through criminal investigations, prosecutions as well as arbitrary detainments and arrests.
HRW Director for Europe and Middle East Hugh Williamson indicated that the experiences in Turkey reveal the severity of the situation in the current Turkish judicial system and stated that this situation must worry everyone – both in Turkey and in the international platform. Here are some of the advice that took place in the report:
Turkey must end opening investigations or filing prosecutions, as well as detainments and arrests against lawyers in order to harass them;
Turkey must allow lawyers to effectively perform their profession in accordance with the rights guaranteed by the international law on human rights;
Turkey must revoke the restrictions brought against the right to legal defense during the State of Emergency, which were later enacted as law;
Turkey must stop mass prosecutions of lawyers as well as arbitrary use of offense indicators taking place in the law within the fight against terrorism.
You may find the full report on https://www.hrw.org/tr/report/2019/04/10/328920.
10.04.2019
bianet.org