'Many Think Judiciary Doesn't Exist'

The pro-freedom Democrat Lawyers Group (ÖDAV) announced on Wednesday its candidates for the upcoming election in the İstanbul Bar Association (TBB) in a statement critical of the Turkish judiciary, saying that a majority of people now think the judiciary does not exist.

In a joint statement, the ÖDAV said “The latest affairs in the legal system have led to emergence of a public opinion that the judiciary doesn't exist in Turkey.”

Both ÖDAV's candidates for co-chairmanship of the TBB, Ercan Kanar and Yıldız İmrek, and former board member of the TBB Ali Saydı delivered speeches at the event held at an İstanbul restaurant.

Pointing out the main problems with the current legal system in the country, the three speakers directed criticism at the government and the TBB. Addressing the audience, İmrek said the ÖDAV aims at launching a democratic change in the judiciary. İmrek also criticized the government for moving away from law and democracy and accused the TBB of becoming the government's stooge.

Ömer Faruk Keskin (Cihan/Today's Zaman)