78 bar associations say 'attack on defense is unacceptable'

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The 78 bar associations of Turkey have released a written statement condemning the incident where Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair Nahit Eren, the bar executives and lawyers were taken out of the courtroom by police force at the hearing of Ayşe Gökkan, the former Nusaybin Mayor and Free Women's Movement (TJA) Term Spokesperson, on September 13.

"No person or institution can prevent a lawyer who is fulfilling her or his duty of defense from practicing the profession of attorneyship, they cannot physically attack or insult the lawyers," the bars have said.

In their joint statement "aimed that expressing themselves and showing their determination of struggle in the face of the mounting threats and attacks on defense and the profession of attorneyship", the bars have recalled that "the presiding judge ordered the police to take Diyarbakır Bar Association Chair lawyer Nahit Eren and lawyers out of the courtroom while the police officers physically attacked and insulted the bar chair, executives and lawyers."

The bar associations have stressed that both the Presiding Judge of the Diyarbakır 9th Heavy Penal Court and the police officers who were involved in the incident should be immediately suspended from duty and the necessary legal and administrative investigation should begin.

Emphasizing the importance of the right to defense, the bars have said that this right "is the most important part of the right to a fair trial."

"For this reason, lawyers, who undertake the duty of defense, are the most important elements of the right to a fair trial," the bar associations have noted, recalling that lawyers are also "the ones fulfilling the duty of jurisdiction as per the Article 6 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)."

The bar associations have said, "We would like to recall that the profession of attorneyship is the guarantee of the right to defense, the right to a fair trial and the freedom of seeking justice. Bar associations as the professional organizations of lawyers are the guarantee of human rights, freedoms and rule of law. For this reason, the freedom of no one is secured in a society where the defense, namely lawyers, is not free and effective."

They have also expressed their "determination to defend the rule of law, right to a fair trial, defense, their profession and colleagues."

2 bars did not sign

The joint statement of the 78 bars has not been signed by the Karaman Bar Association and the Rize Bar Association. The Gümüşhane-Bayburt Bar Association represents the two cities as a regional bar association. 

The undersigned bar associations are as follows:

1. Adana Bar Association 2. Adıyaman Bar Association 3. Afyonkarahisar Bar Association 4. Ağrı Bar Association 5. Aksaray Bar Association 6. Amasya Bar Association 7. Ankara Bar Association 8. Antalya Bar Association 9. Ardahan Bar Association 10. Artvin Bar Association 11. Aydın Bar Association 12. Balıkesir Bar Association 13. Bartın Bar Association 14. Batman Bar Association 15. Bilecik Bar Association 16. Bingöl Bar Association 17. Bitlis Bar Association 18. Bolu Bar Association 19. Burdur Bar Association 20. Bursa Bar Association 21. Çanakkale Bar Association 22. Çankırı Bar Association 23. Çorum Bar Association 24. Denizli Bar Association 25. Diyarbakır Bar Association 26. Düzce Bar Association 27. Edirne Bar Association 28. Elazığ Bar Association 29. Erzincan Bar Association 30. Erzurum Bar Association 31. Eskişehir Bar Association 32. Gaziantep Bar Association 33. Giresun Bar Association 34. Gümüşhane-Bayburt Bölge Bar Association 35. Hakkari Bar Association 36. Hatay Bar Association 37. Iğdır Bar Association 38. Isparta Bar Association 39. İstanbul Bar Association 40.İzmir Bar Association 41. Kahramanmaraş Bar Association 42. Karabük Bar Association 43. Kars Bar Association 44.Kastamonu Bar Association 45. Kayseri Bar Association 46. Kırıkkale Bar Association 47. Kırklareli Bar Association 48. Kırşehir Bar Association 49. Kilis Bar Association 50.Kocaeli Bar Association 51. Konya Bar Association 52. Kütahya Bar Association 53. Malatya Bar Association 54.Manisa Bar Association 55. Mardin Bar Association 56. Mersin Bar Association 57. Muğla Bar Association 58. Muş Bar Association 59. Nevşehir Bar Association 60.Niğde Bar Association 61. Ordu Bar Association 62. Osmaniye Bar Association 63. Sakarya Bar Association 64.Samsun Bar Association 65. Siirt Bar Association 66. Sinop Bar Association 67. Sivas Bar Association 68. Şanlıurfa Bar Association 69. Şırnak Bar Association 70. Tekirdağ Bar Association 71. Tokat Bar Association 72. Trabzon Bar Association 73. Tunceli Bar Association 74. Uşak Bar Association 75. Van Bar Association 76. Yalova Bar Association 77. Yozgat Bar Association 78. Zonguldak Bar Association.

(KÖ/SD)