Turkish lawyers protest the government plan to reform/control bar associations

Thousands of Turkish lawyers protested outside Istanbul’s main courthouse on Tuesday against a government plan to reform bar associations, saying it aims to silence dissent and will lead to politicization of their profession.

Under a draft law presented to parliament on Tuesday by President Erdogan’s AKP, multiple bar associations could be formed in each of Turkey’s provinces. Only one is currently allowed per province.

AKP lawmaker Cahit Ozkan told reporters the bill was needed because bar associations were no longer able to function properly following a 13-fold increase in the number of lawyers in Turkey since the existing law first came into effect.

New lawyers would now be allowed to register with any bar in the province, according to the draft law.

The protesters say it is an attempt to dilute the existing bar associations, which have emerged as leading critics of the Erdogan government’s record on the rule of law and human rights.

The associations say the judicial system has descended into chaos with lawyers jailed, defences muzzled and confidence in judges and prosecutors destroyed.

Reuters