Lawsuit Against Lawyer for Supporting Arrested Lawyers ‘Under the Name of Justice Watch’

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Yet another lawsuit has been filed into the "Justice Watch", which started with the arrest of lawyers in Cumhuriyet newspaper case and was kept by lawyers in front of İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan for months.

Lawyer Kemal Aytaç, one of the organizers of the watch, now faces a lawsuit as per the article 28/1 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) over "his speech addressing the lawyers waiting inside the courthouse" on May 4, 2017.

Charged with "organizing, leading and joining unlawful assemblies and demonstrations", lawyer Aytaç will have his first hearing at the İstanbul 9th Penal Court of First Instance on April 16, 2020 at 9.46 a.m.

Aytaç was previously battered while the lawyers of Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) were trying to make a statement in front of the courthouse. A lawsuit was filed against the lawyers, including Aytaç.

'With the aim of supporting arrested suspects...'

The indictment prepared by İstanbul Public Prosecutor Mustafa Dağlı alleges that "Kemal Aytaç held a meeting at the Foyer of İstanbul Courthouse with the aim of supporting the arrested suspects of the investigation against Cumhuriyet newspaper under the name of 'Justice Watch'."

Alleging that Aytaç addressed 100-150 lawyers there, the indictment also indicates that his actions were taken down in the minutes by the security personnel. The minutes in question are included in the case file as evidence.

'My aim was to express our expectation for justice'

Lawyer Kemal Aytaç has not accepted the charges in his defense, indicating that "as they could not accept the arrest of three lawyers of Cumhuriyet newspaper, he made a routine oral statement without any written content with the sole of aim of expressing their expectation for justice so that the lawyers would be released as soon as possible."

"In this statement of mine, I made warning remarks to my fellow lawyers to ensure that they wait in their togs without hindering the functioning of the courthouse during Justice Watch", Aytaç has added.

'It is apparent that the crime was not constituted'

According to Aytaç, the statement for the press was held outside the courthouse on that day, just as it was the case on every other Thursday:

"As for the statements for the press, we made them by leaving the courthouse after we held the watch inside.

"The statements for the press held outside the courthouse were followed and recorded with cameras by both courthouse authorities and law enforcement officers. The law enforcement have this footage.

"In no way did we make a statement for the press inside the courthouse and I did not read out a press statement anyway. The minutes do not make such a claim either. Neither I nor my fellow lawyers held an unpermitted assembly and demonstration or behaved or acted in such a way to hinder the functioning of the courthouse.

"As far as I could see from the content of the minutes, the file of investigation and expert report, it is apparent that the crime was not constituted." (AS/SD)