5 Lawyers on 20th Day of Their Hunger Strike ‘Against Unlawfulness’
Click to read the article in Turkish
Five jailed lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and People's Law Bureau (HHB) have been on a hunger strike for 20 days.
Speaking to bianet about the hunger strike of the lawyers, Meral Yıldırım, who has also gone on a hunger strike together with her mother in support of her husband lawyer Engin Gökoğlu, has stated that the lawyers will continue their hunger strike until their hearing on March 18-21, 2019.
The lawyers who are currently on hunger strike and the prisons where they are held are as follows: Aycan Çiçek (Düzce), Aytaç Ünsal (Burhaniye), Behiç Aşçı and Selçuk Kozağaçlı (Silivri), Engin Gökoğlu (Tekirdağ).
"They are on a hunger strike against unlawfulness"
Meral Yıldırım has stated that the lawyers have started a hunger strike with the aim of raising concerns over the unlawful practices that they have encountered during their judicial process and added that they will make a decision afterwards, depending on the developments:
"They were arrested again shortly after being released, the court board was changed before they were re-arrested and they are held in prisons in different provinces though they were all arrested and put on trial in İstanbul... They are on a hunger strike against such unlawful practices."
Speaking about her meeting with her husband lawyer Engin Gökoğlu, who has also gone on a hunger strike in prison, Yıldırım has said, "He told me that they will greet the hearing with hunger strikes and do not want to experience any other unlawfulnesses."
"The court demanded an opinion as to the accusations from the Prosecutor's Office for the second time, the Prosecutor's Office will present its opinion in this hearing. They are trying to quickly give a verdict."
"We live all these unlawfulnesses together with them"
Mother of Yıldırım, İpek Yıldırım has also been on a hunger strike with her daughter for the last six days. Meral Yıldırım has stated that her hunger strike will also continue until the hearing:
"As their families, we are experiencing all these unlawfulnesses together with them. They have been arrested for 16 months and we are supporting them by joining in their hunger. They will have been on a hunger strike for 54 days when their hearing is held."
Yaprak Türkmen, an attorney for the arrested lawyers, will also go on a reversible hunger strike tomorrow (February 13) in solidarity with the jailed lawyers. Until the hearing, the other attorneys representing the hunger striker lawyers will also go on reversible hunger strikes.
Protest in front of courthouse
"Freedom to the lawyers of the people"
Lawyer Didem Baydar Ünsal, who is also tried as part of the same lawsuit and whose husband Aytaç Ünsal has also gone on a hunger strike in prison, has been staging a protest in front of İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan.
What happened?Most of the lawyers, who are members of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and People's Law Bureau (HHB), were taken into custody in police raids against their bureaus on September 12, 2017 and arrested on September 20. Chair of the ÇHD Selçuk Kozağaçlı was arrested on November 13, 2017 At their hearing on September 14, 2018, the İstanbul 37th Heavy Penal Court ruled for the release of the lawyers Ahmet Mandacı, Aycan Çiçek, Ayşegül Çağatay, Aytaç Ünsal, Barkın Timtik, Behiç Aşçı, Didem Baydar Ünsal, Ebru Timtik, Engin Gökoğlu, Naciye Demir, Özgür Yılmaz, Selçuk Kozağaçlı, Süleyman Gökten, Şükriye Erden, Yağmur Ererken, Yaprak Türkmen and Zehra Özdemir. However, less than 24 hours after a verdict of release was given for them, the board of the court was changed and, in the meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office objected to the verdict. The new court board ruled that six of the released lawyers should be arrested again. After spending one day outside prison, six released lawyers were re-arrested and sent to prisons in different provinces of Turkey. The arrest warrants issued against lawyers Günay Dağ and Oya Aslan have still been in effect. |
(AS/SD)