European Law Societies Push for Release of Detained Lawyers in Turkey

On Thursday, a group of European law societies penned an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arguing for the release of 55 legal professionals recently detained in Ankara.

The lawyers in question were arrested during dawn raids on 11 September, in which their offices were searched and they were subjected to questioning in relation to their professional activities.

These actions by Turkish authorities ran contrary to United Nations principles, according to the letter signed by Lawyers for Lawyers, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, the Bar Council of England and Wales and the German Bar Association.

“The undersigned organisations fear that the arrest of these lawyers is connected to and serves to curb their legitimate activities as lawyers,” the letter reads. “If this is the case, then this is contrary to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and possibly also a violation of the fair trial rights of the clients they represent.”

The law societies urged President Erdoğan to release the lawyers, drop all charges against them unless credible evidence of illicit activity can be presented, and end harassment against them. The letter also called for Turkish authorities to “Guarantee in all circumstances that all lawyers in Turkey are able to carry out their legitimate professional activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.”

The Ankara prosecutor’s office has claimed that the police raids on law offices were part of a terrorism investigation. According to the legal organisations’ letter, it was reported that the arrests were sought in connection to the lawyers’ representation of clients alleged to be affiliated with the religious Gülen movement.