The President and members of the Istanbul Bar Association gave statements in a terrorism investigation.

The President of the Istanbul Bar Association, İbrahim Kaboğlu, and the members of the board arrived at the Çağlayan Courthouse as part of an investigation launched against them on charges of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "publicly disseminating misleading information." Kaboğlu and his companions gave statements to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

"THE INVESTIGATION IS BEING CONDUCTED IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW"

The President of the Turkish Bar Association (TBB), Erinç Sağkan, stated in a press conference held in front of the courthouse, "As you know, today, our Bar President and our board members were summoned to give statements as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. I can say that even if we only consider the procedural aspect, this investigation process has been conducted in violation of the constitution and the law from the very beginning. An investigation was initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the President of the Istanbul Bar Association and the board members without following the special investigation procedures for lawyers and without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Justice, and this was shared with the public." he stated.

WHAT HAPPENED?

An investigation was initiated against the President of the Istanbul Bar Association, İbrahim Kaboğlu, and the board members on the grounds that "fugitive suspects with membership in the terrorist organization PKK were praised" in a statement published on social media.

In a statement made by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was noted that the statement announced on December 21 from the official social media account of the Istanbul Bar Association praised fugitive suspects Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who have membership in the terrorist organization PKK.

The statement included, "Additionally, due to the findings regarding the misleading information being disseminated that they were killed because of their so-called journalism activities and journalist identities, and that our state allegedly committed war crimes, an investigation was initiated ex officio against the President of the Istanbul Bar Association and the Board Members for 'making propaganda for a terrorist organization' and 'publicly disseminating misleading information.'"