Deniz Tekin
In the trial of lawyer Süleyman Şahin, it was revealed that the police statement of informant Ümit Akbıyık, whose testimonies led to investigations and prosecutions of various lawyers, journalists, and politicians, was taken without legal counsel.
During the second hearing of the trial at Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court, lawyer Süleyman Şahin stands accused of being a "member of an organization" due to accompanying his clients during police and prosecutor interrogations. This case is based on statements by informant Ümit Akbıyık.
The hearing was attended by Şahin and his lawyers, members of the Diyarbakır Bar Association's Executive Board, the Lawyers' Rights Center, and international observers including Tara Fiechter Boels Zanders from Lawyers for Lawyers, Christine Martineau from Lawyers Without Borders, Françoise Cotta from the Paris Bar Association, and representatives from the Association for Freedom of Lawyers and the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Association.
The presiding judge requested Şahin to respond to an additional indictment merged with his case file. Şahin stated that the supplementary indictment was not directly related to him but to the Association for Freedom of Lawyers (ÖHD), a legally recognized human rights organization.Informant witness Ümit Akbıyık, testifying via SEGBİS (audio-visual communication system), accused Şahin of involvement in organizational activities. Şahin’s lawyer, Baver Mızrak, inquired whether Akbıyık had a lawyer present during his 32-hour police interrogation. Akbıyık admitted that his lawyer was not consistently present. Despite objections from Şahin's defense, the judge intervened in the questioning process.
Witness Gülistan Yılmaz testified, asserting that Akbıyık's statements were false.
Lawyer Baver Mızrak highlighted that lawyer A.B., who allegedly attended Akbıyık's interrogation from January 10-12, 2023, was actually present in a court hearing at the Diyarbakır 11th High Criminal Court on January 11 and visited a client in prison the same day. Mızrak requested that this lawyer be heard as a witness.
Lawyer Gülan Çağın Kaleli argued that no concrete evidence had been discussed in this trial and accused the court of lacking effectiveness and impartiality.
Serdar Özer, another lawyer for Şahin and Secretary General of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, stated, "Apart from the witness statement, there is no evidence in the file to substantiate the accusations against our colleague. Judging him for his professional activities today will lead to unlawful practices for judges as well in the future."
The court rejected the defense's requests and decided to maintain the travel ban on Şahin. The next hearing is scheduled for October 1.
#### Background of the case
The investigation initiated based on Ümit Akbıyık's statements resulted in detention orders for 216 individuals. On April 25, 2023, operations in 20 provinces led to the detention of nearly 200 people, including journalists, lawyers, politicians, and artists.
Lawyer Süleyman Şahin and 20 other lawyers were released under judicial control with travel bans. The Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office charged Şahin with "membership in an organization," seeking up to 15 years in prison, alleging his connections with the PKK and KCK organizations.
