By Gabriel princewill-
The Law Society has called for united international support for Turkey’s lawyers following a mass attack against lawyers, judges, journalists and others under a dictatorship regime in Turkey.
After the attempted coup in 2006, up to 150,000 people were dismissed and thousands prosecuted and imprisoned. Over 1,500 lawyers, including many presidents of provincial bar associations were also prosecuted with the numbers continuously growing. The Law Society says thousands of innocent people, including journalists, human rights defenders are being victimised unfairly.
The Law Society has routinely made interventions on behalf of many lawyers, working with the IBA Human Rights Institute, the Bar Human Rights Committee and Turkish lawyers to make detailed representations to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. Turkish prosecutors have bene unfairly and discriminatorily targeting and criminalizing lawyers for doing their jobs and protesting against activities they consider to be wrong and unacceptable.
The prosecuting authorities in Turkey are accused of criminalizing lawyers for activities undertaken within their professional remit amd also associating them without evidence with alleged crimes of their clients. The prosecutions are said to be reataliatory and have included intimidation of lawyers and undue interferenc eof their duties. An insider from the Law Society told The Eye Of Media.Com:
” These abhorrent abuses against lawyers and member sof the legal profession in Turkey are excessive and need colelctive action against them. It is imperative for the Turkish governemnt to adhere fully to the tenets of the rule of law and refrain from the barbaric and despotic operations they have been conducting. There needs to be some concerted effort against this type of illegal conduct being perpetrated by so called representatives of the Turkish Legal System. It undermines the very principles of the rule of law”
CONDEMNATION
The Turkish government have been a strong voice of condemnation against the Saudi government over the killing of the late U.S based journalist, Jamal Kashoggi. They now appear to be indulging in reprehensible acts that subject they themselves to condemnation in the strongest terms possible terms, presenting them as hypocrits. Turkey is not known for its observance of Human Right Laws o Indulging in abusive processes that detract from their professional and legal credibility only serves to expose a grave failing in their legal system and political structure.
Writing in the Law Society’s Law Gazette today, the Chair of the Law Society’s Human Rights CommitteeTony Fisher called for concerted international action from the elgal profession to help address the painful failings of the Turkish regime is bullishly victimising honourable professionals in Turkey. He pointed out the challenges complainants have had in seeking remedy from the European Court Of Human Rights because who have erroeneously insisted that they exhaust the domestic process, a process known to be shambolic and dishonourable.
DIFFICULTIES
A Human Rights Watch report details the difficulties that faces legal clients in Turkey. how the process is playing out. Lawyers are unlawfully instructed to dump clients seeking recourse to justice. In addition to interviews being routinely monitored and recorded, Turkish courts also restrict named lawyers from accessing investigation files of individuals in custody who are on suspicion of terrorism offenses. Suspicion without legitimate basis, influenced by ill motives. Some defendants have eben been prevented from attending their own court cases in person, limiting their contribution to the case to video links.
Our insider from The Law Society insisted: ” this state of affairs is draconian. It must repel us all that legal abuses of this magnitude continues against the legal profession in Turkey without impunity. The Turkish govwernment need to be held to account for this insufferable practise of corruption and ill practise”. The constitutional Court of Turkey is said not to have fairly considered the cases of complainants.