Turkish Police Block Lawyers Marching to Ankara against Bill

Lawyers gather in front of the Justice Palace to demonstrate against the police stopping senior lawyers marching to the capital Ankara, in Istanbul, Turkey June 22, 2020. (Reuters)
Lawyers gather in front of the Justice Palace to demonstrate against the police stopping senior lawyers marching to the capital Ankara, in Istanbul, Turkey June 22, 2020. (Reuters)
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Turkish Police Block Lawyers Marching to Ankara against Bill

Lawyers gather in front of the Justice Palace to demonstrate against the police stopping senior lawyers marching to the capital Ankara, in Istanbul, Turkey June 22, 2020. (Reuters)
Lawyers gather in front of the Justice Palace to demonstrate against the police stopping senior lawyers marching to the capital Ankara, in Istanbul, Turkey June 22, 2020. (Reuters)

The heads of several Turkish lawyers’ associations on Monday began a sit-in demonstration after police blocked the group from marching to the capital, Ankara.

The heads of Bar Associations from various cities embarked on a march to Ankara last week in their robes to protest government plans to amend laws regulating lawyers and their associations, including the way they elect the association’s regional chairs.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party has proposed changes to the associations’ election system that it says will make it more democratic and increase representation from smaller cities.

But the lawyers marching say the move would pave the way for the formation of government-friendly associations.

Most bar associations in Turkey are highly critical of the government and its human rights record and say the judicial system has descended into chaos with lawyers jailed, defenses muzzled and confidence in judges and prosecutors destroyed.

Police blocked the group at a main highway leading into the city, briefly sparking scuffles between the lawyers and officers.

The lawyers — who had aimed to reach the mausoleum of the Turkish Republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — then began a sit-in protest, HaberTurk news channel reported. Ankara-based lawyers who arrived to greet the arriving group also joined the protest.

“Our march to the capital of this country is being stopped for no reason and is completely unlawfully,” Erinc Sagkan, head of Ankara’s bar association, told reporters.

“It’s a black day for Turkey as its lawyers are blocked from walking into the capital city through violence,” he said.

If the draft bill becomes law, lawyers would also be allowed to form additional bar associations in provinces with more than 5,000 registered attorneys. New associations would need a minimum of 2,000 members.

Lawyers marching say the proposal would limit their associations’ power of oversight. For example, they may hesitate to penalize members who violate ethics if that were to push their association below the minimum membership threshold, they say.

“The government is aiming to form multiple bar associations in the same province, thus creating conflicting associations whose power has been dimmed, through the old strategy of divide, conquer and rule,” the Istanbul Bar Association said in a statement.

The head of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, Metin Feyzioglu, however, questioned whether the marching lawyers were motivated by the legislation or were instead targeting the judiciary, which critics say the government has harnessed in recent years to target political rivals. Erdogan’s AK Party denies that charge.



Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
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Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ruling out talks with Ukraine, but guarantees will be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Sunday.

More than 90 countries took part in a two-day event at the Buergenstock resort in central Switzerland aimed at uniting global opinion on how to end Moscow's 27-month-old invasion.
Russia was not invited to those talks.

Kyiv's positions have been taken into consideration in the final communique for the summit, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday.

"The text is balanced, all of our principled positions on which Ukraine had insisted have been considered," he told reporters.

Kuleba also hinted that Russia could be involved in a future summit but dismissed Putin's demand on Friday that Kyiv cede four regions of Ukraine that Russia has occupied and drop its goal of joining NATO.