Human Rights Watch and 12 international legal and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the International Bar Association’s Institute for Human Rights, and the European Council of Bar Associations and Law Societies, have filed an **amicus brief** with the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on September 5, calling for the criminal and civil cases against Istanbul Bar Association chair İbrahim Kaboğlu and 10 members of its board of directors to be dismissed as a violation of Turkey’s international obligations.
In the **amicus brief** submitted to the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on September 5, it was emphasized that the criminal and civil lawsuits filed against Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and 10 members of the board of directors are a direct attack on the defense profession.
The case is based on a statement made by the Istanbul Bar Association on December 21, 2024, after two Kurdish journalists, Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, were killed in a drone strike in northern Syria. In the statement, the Bar Association called for the protection of journalists, an effective investigation and the release of detained lawyers.
Citing the statement, prosecutors in Turkey charged bar association executives with **”terrorist propaganda “** and **”disseminating misleading information “** and filed a civil lawsuit for the dismissal of the bar association management. Istanbul’s 2nd Civil Court of First Instance ruled on March 21 to dismiss the administration, a decision that is currently under appeal.
International organizations stated that this process violates the rule of law and is politically motivated. “Bar associations are obliged to defend human rights and their statements are within the scope of their professional duties.”
Dinushika Dissanayake of Amnesty International said the case is part of a systematic crackdown on lawyers and sets a dangerous precedent. “Criminalizing such a statement is both legally indefensible and politically alarming,” said Helena Kennedy (IBA Institute for Human Rights).
The organizations stressed that the case violates Turkey’s international obligations on freedom of expression, freedom of association and independence of lawyers, and that dismissal of the case is the only just outcome.
September 10, 2025
Human Rights Watch