MLSA - MLSA and Lawyers for Lawyers prepared a joint expert brief on the case against former Diyarbakır Bar Association President Cihan Aydın and 10 lawyers who were members of the executive board at the time for making a statement on April 24th Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, stating that the case is in violation of international conventions and resolutions.
One after another, investigations opened against the Diyarbakır Bar Association for statements made on the anniversary of April 24, 1915, which is considered the beginning of the Armenian genocide and on which Armenian intellectuals were detained, are turning into lawsuits with the trial permits granted by the Ministry of Justice. Investigations were initiated against seven separate statements made by the Diyarbakır Bar Association between 2017 and 2023 on the Armenian genocide commemoration day. The Ministry of Justice granted permission to prosecute four investigations opened on the allegation of "publicly denigrating the Turkish nation, the state of the Republic of Turkey, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the government of the Republic of Turkey and the judicial organs of the state" under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC).
Former Diyarbakır Bar Association President Cihan Aydın and lawyers Muhlis Oğurgül, Ahmet Dağ, Erhan Aytekin, Fırat Üger, Gazal Bayram Koluman, Mehmet Akbaş, Serdar Çelebi, Tevfik Karahan, Ömer Şeran and Özgür Yılmaz Biçen, who were members of the executive board of the bar association for the 2018-2020 period, are on trial in one of these cases filed under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code due to the genocide commemoration. The fourth hearing of this case will be held on Friday, December 22nd at Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court. The Dutch NGO Lawyers for Lawyers has prepared an expert opinion in partnership with the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) to be presented at this hearing.
The expert opinion recalled previous cases brought against Turkey for similar statements and stated that the criminal law provision on which these cases were based violated Turkey's international human rights obligations. In particular, the case is contrary to the freedom of expression enshrined in the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the United Nations' recommendation on the independence of lawyers and judges.
In the opinion to be presented to the Diyarbakır 9th High Criminal Court, Lawyers for Lawyers and MLSA expressed solidarity with the Diyarbakır Bar Association and called for the case to be dismissed, taking into account international human rights law.
Lawyers for Lawyers
Lawyers for Lawyers is a Netherlands-based non-profit, non-governmental organization founded by lawyers. The aim of the organization is to ensure the international independence of lawyers and lawyers internationally. In July 2013, Lawyers for Lawyers was granted "Special Consultative Status" by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
