* Drawing: Murat Başol
Click to read the article in Turkish
The chairs of İstanbul, Ankara, Diyarbakır, İzmir, Bursa, Antalya, Adana, Mersin, Van, Urfa, Antep, Hatay, Denizli, Mardin, Artvin, Aydın bar associations have shared a video entitled "Do you know" and questioned how 18 lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) have been sentenced to 159 years, 1 month, 30 days in prison in total.
The video features the unlawful acts in the lawsuit:
— Av. Mehmet Durakoğlu (@DURAKOGLU2016) April 6, 2020
Bar association chairs have shared their video on Twitter under the hashtag #TürkiyedeAvukatOlmak, which means "being a lawyer in Turkey."
The bar association chairs have shared the following messages:
Announcing its verdict in the lawsuit filed against ÇHD lawyers on March 20, the court ruled that the lawyers should be sentenced to 3 years, 1 month, 15 days to 18 years, 9 months in prison.
The 2nd Penal Chamber of the İstanbul Regional Court of Justice rejected the objections and sent the file to the Court of Cassation.
CLICK - Judge First Upheld the Sentence, Then Examined the File
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation expressed opinion that the prison sentences of all lawyers, except for the one given to lawyer Barkın Timtik, be upheld.
The letter of notification only indicated that the prison sentence of 18 years, 9 months given to Barkın Timtik for "establishing and leading an organization" as per the Article 314/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) should be overturned and he should also be penalized for "membership of an organization" like other lawyers.
The letter of notification issued by the prosecutor's office has been sent to the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.
Lawyer Ebru Timtik, an executive of the ÇHD, and lawyer Aytaç Ünsal, a member of the ÇHD, have gone on a death fast for the right to a fair trial. (AS/SD)