5 Released Lawyers Arrested Again

* Photograph: People's Law Bureau, in front of Bakırköy Prison in İstanbul

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Upon the objection to the release of 17 lawyers from the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and People's Law Bureau (HHB), who were previously in jail pending trial, the lawyers Ahmet Mandacı, Engin Gökoğlu, Aycan Çiçek, Aytaç Ünsal and Behiç Aşçı have been arrested again.

The Penal Judgeship of Peace has ruled for the arrest of lawyers, for whom a verdict of release was issued on September 14 and who were released on September 15, on the ground that "there is a strong criminal suspicion" and "arrest is proportional to the punishment expected to be given".

Selçuk Kozağaçlı, the Chair of the ÇHD, who went to the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan yesterday (September 16) upon the arrest warrant, was battered by the police and taken to the İstanbul Security Directorate.

The People's Law Bureau has announced that Kozağaçlı will be taken to the courthouse again today.

What happened?

Most of the lawyers were detained during the police raids launched against their bureaus on September 12, 2017, and were arrested on September 20. Kozağaçlı was arrested on November 13, 2017.

At their hearing held 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.

The court ruled for their release with reference to their duration of arrest and legal precedents of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and on the ground that the classification of the offence has changed and the defendants are lawyers and were arrested as a measure.

The arrest warrants issued for the fugitive lawyers Günay Dağ andOya Aslan, who have been tried in the same case, are still in effect.

The court also ruled that the lawyers shall be released on probation.

However, one day after the verdict of release issued for the lawyers, an arrest warrant was issued for them upon the objection of the Prosecutor's Office. As of September 17, five of the released lawyers were arrested again.

The next hearing of the lawyers will be held on February 19-20, 2019. (AS/SD)