TURKEY: The OIAD condemns the decision to dissolve the Istanbul Bar Council and expresses its unwavering support to the lawyers of Istanbul
The OIAD attended the hearing of 21 March 2025, regarding the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s request to terminate the mandates of the Istanbul Bar President and the members of the Bar Council. Lawyers Barbara Porta (Turin Bar Association), Valeria Cominotti (Brescia Bar Association), and Ketty-Anne Tamburini (Lyon Bar Association), travelled to Istanbul as representatives of the OIAD to attend the hearing.
Post-mission statement from the OIAD:
The OIAD condemns the decision of 21 March 2025 of the 2nd Civil Section of the Istanbul Civil Court (Çağlayan House) upholding the public prosecutor’s appeal whose proposal had been authorised by the Minister of Justice on 14 January 2025. The latter sought to order the dissolution of the Istanbul Bar Council for exceeding its powers under Article 77 of the Professional Law in force.
The OIAD strongly condemns the dismissal of the President of the Istanbul Bar Association, Professor Ibrahim Kaboglu, and the Bar Council itself, solely for exercising the fundamental right to freedom of expression inherent to the practice of the legal profession and to its inalienable independence.
The OIAD reaffirms the universal principle according to which, throughout the world, the Bar is and must remain free, independent and autonomous from any form of political conditioning or repression.
The OIAD also calls for the immediate release of colleague Firat Epözdemir, a member of the Bar Council, who was unjustly arrested at the end of February 2025.
The OIAD emphasises that lawyers are the defenders of the fundamental rights of those subject to trial. Therefore, they should never be subjected to intimidation, arrest or arbitrary conviction simply for exercising their profession.
The OIAD calls on the international legal community, institutions, lawyers’ associations and all human rights organisations to condemn these unacceptable attacks on the independence of the profession and lawyers’ freedom of expression.
We stand and will always stand by Istanbul lawyers.
