The General Assembly of the FBE, meeting in Paris on 28th September 2021 expresses its full support for lawyers in Turkey who are detained, on trial or sentenced to prison. Following the 5 day fact finding visit of around 30 lawyers from 8 European countries from 15 to 20 September 2021, the General Assembly believes that the legal profession itself is on trial.

On 15 September in the trial of the lawyers’ organisation: Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği (ÇHD), there were 10 presidents of regional bar associations among the defence team of 148 lawyers . According to the bar presidents, by maintaining the allegations against the defendants, the legal profession itself is put on trial. The 10 bar presidents called upon the court to ensure a fair trial and to release the defendants from pretrial detention.

We demand the immediate release of all lawyers incarcerated merely because they are performing their duties and functions as lawyers and/or exercising their rights to freedom of expression. We will continue to insist on upholding the fundamental principles of the rule of law, including the right to a fair trial.

Joining the motion adopted by the Conférence des Bâtonniers de France et d’Outre-Mer the 24th September 2021, we call on the lawyers of Europe to demonstrate in their robes on 16 November 2021 at 11 a.m., the day before the trial, in front of Turkish embassies and consulates to show their solidarity and their total support for their Turkish colleagues.