24.10.2026 17:00
At the 128th Ordinary General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association, during the candidates' speeches, slogans chanted and banners unfurled caused tension between groups of lawyers that escalated into a fistfight; the presiding board called a 15-minute recess due to the incidents.
The 128th Ordinary General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association began at the Haliç Congress Center after quorum was established. During the speeches of the candidates who took the podium after the formation of the presiding board and the handover of the bar association administration, tensions rose in the hall. Due to the scuffles and fistfights that broke out over slogans and reactions, the general assembly had to be suspended.
SLOGAN DUEL TURNED INTO A FISTFIGHT
After Independent Lawyers Group candidate Attorney Arife Gökkaya Dinç completed her speech, tension erupted in the hall. After Dinç's speech, a group of lawyers who unfurled an LGBT+ flag chanted, 'In spite of hatred, long live life.' Another group of lawyers reacting to this responded with chants of 'Down with the PKK.' The verbal clash between the groups escalated rapidly and turned into a fistfight. Following the scuffle, the presiding board suspended the general assembly for 15 minutes. After the parties calmed down, the assembly resumed from where it left off with candidate speeches.
TURKISH FLAG UNFURLED
Another notable moment at the tense general assembly occurred during the speech of Attorney Prof. Dr. Ümit Kocasakal, presidential candidate of the Republican Power Union. While Kocasakal was at the podium, a Turkish flag was unfurled in the hall and the slogans 'How happy is the one who says I am a Turk' and 'We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal' were chanted.
INTERVENTION FROM THE PRESIDING BOARD
In response to the rising voices, the Presiding Board intervened and made a warning announcement stating that the Turkish flag is the common value of all lawyers in the hall and should not be used as election material.