Istanbul Bar Association hearing postponed!

The second hearing of the case in which the president and board of directors of the Istanbul Bar Association are being tried on charges of "making terrorist propaganda through the press and publication" and "publicly disseminating misleading information through the press and publication" continued today at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court in Courtroom 1 at the Marmara Prison Campus in Silivri. The hearing, for which the prosecutor requested time for the submission of an opinion, was adjourned to January 5-6-7-8, 2026.

TURGUT KAZAN DEFENDED

At the hearing, Attorney Turgut Kazan, a former president of the Istanbul Bar Association, stated that he had witnessed the Istanbul Bar Association as a colleague for 1963 years and delivered a defense in which he emphasized its historical significance. Attorney Turgut Kazan recalled that Celalettin Arif, the then-president of the Chamber of Deputies, which was raided by the British upon the adoption of the National Pact, was also the President of the Istanbul Bar Association. He recalled that when Celalettin Arif traveled to Anatolia with his friends, he was greeted with great enthusiasm at the station by the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal, and was immediately elected Vice President of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, emphasizing the importance of the Istanbul Bar Association.

Kazan then gave examples of the pressures the Istanbul Bar Association faced during the Republic's history and during coups, and how it combated them. He emphasized that the bar association is not merely a professional organization but also a fundamental guarantee of the right to defense. Presenting his defense on the accusations, Attorney Kazan explained that the frequent violation decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights had forced the government to amend the propaganda crime at issue in this case, and how these crimes had been modified in line with human rights. He argued that the Court should have ruled for acquittal.

POSTPONED TO JANUARY 2026

The hearing, for which the prosecutor requested time for the opinion, was postponed to January 5-6-7-8, 2026.

"THERE ARE NO HEARINGS ON THE PRISON CAMPUS"

Making a statement after the hearing, Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu said:

Two important demands dominated yesterday's and today's hearings. First, no hearings can be held and no cases can be heard on the prison campus in Silivri. Second, this case is baseless. An acquittal must be issued immediately. Yes, the demand for immediate acquittal was the common demand of all the speakers, our lawyer colleagues, our defense counsel, bar association presidents, and the President of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations yesterday and today. We began yesterday with an objection to the unconstitutionality. We demonstrated the multifaceted unconstitutionality of hearing cases like this in any other location outside the city.

Not just one person, but many others, both with expert opinions and from the defense perspective, but the High Criminal Court rejected all these requests. Therefore, this case, which was postponed until January, has once again confirmed that it is a case of instrumentalizing and politicizing the law, a case that has been ongoing for approximately nine months. As the Istanbul Bar Association, we have reaffirmed our righteousness here today, and we will continue to work, as we have always done, to fulfill this positive obligation, the determination to defend the rule of law and protect human rights, given to bar associations by our Constitution and laws, in this just struggle. We have said, and will continue to say, "Legal for everyone, always and everywhere."