Lawyer who represented families of ISIS bombing victims arrested on 'terror' charges

Click to read the article in Turkish

Lawyer Gülhan Kaya has been arrested for "being a member of a terrorist organization."

Kaya, a member of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), was detained along with several other lawyers during house raids on June 10.

After two days of detention, Kaya was questioned by the prosecutor and subsequently referred to court. The 9th Penal Judgeship of Peace yesterday ordered her arrest.

Reacting to the court's decision on Twitter, the ÖHD said, "We do not accept the government's attacks aiming to criminalize our legal practice and professional activities. Despite all the difficulties and pressures, we will continue to defend rights and freedoms."

Kaya was one of the lawyers who represented the families of those who were killed in a 2015 ISIS bombing in Suruç, Urfa. Thirty-four people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the bombing. Human rights advocates cite the case of the massacre, in which only one defendant was convicted, as an example of impunity, criticizing the ineffective prosecution that ensued.

The Suruç Families platform criticized her arrest in a tweet, saying, "Lawyers who advocate for justice against the massacres perpetrated by ISIS gangs, particularly in Suruç, and against those who protect the perpetrators, are our pride."

The Law Office for the Oppressed (EHB) also expressed their reaction on Twitter, stating, "Revolutionary lawyers are our honor! The defense did not remain silent and will not remain silent!"

Meanwhile, Mustafa Taylan Savran, a member of the EHB, who was detained on the same day as Kaya, was released yesterday after giving a statement to prosecutors.

Several ÖHD lawyers were detained in police operations over the past two months, along with Kurdish politicians and journalists, facing "terrorism-related" charges.

The ÖHD has long been implicated by government officials as the "legal branch" of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and subjected to investigations based on this accusation.

As recently as last month, then-Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, who stepped down after the May elections, stated that the PKK would be effectively dealt with once "its lawyers" are imprisoned. (EMK/VK)