Terror indictment prepared against Istanbul Bar Association President Kaboğlu and his board: Referred to court

The Istanbul Bar Association published a statement titled "Implement International Humanitarian Law" on its official X account on December 21, 2024. The statement claimed that Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were neutralized by security forces in Syria, were journalists. However, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that these individuals were under investigation for "membership in an armed terrorist organization." The Prosecutor's Office noted that the individuals killed were not journalists, but members of an organization who had engaged in armed conflict with security forces.

Following this post, an investigation was launched into the Istanbul Bar Association on charges of "terrorist propaganda." After obtaining permission from the Ministry of Justice as required by the Attorneys Act, the Prosecutor's Office took the statements of Bar President Kaboğlu and 10 board members.

CHARGES IN THE INDICTMENT 

The indictment prepared by the Prosecutor's Office alleges that the post made by the bar association's management aimed to legitimize members of a terrorist organization. According to a report by Habertürk, the indictment included the following charges:

That the Istanbul Bar Association's statement portrayed terrorist organization members Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin as journalists,

That the operations of security forces were presented as war crimes,

That the statement was intended to legitimize the separatist activities that are the ultimate goal of the terrorist organization,

That presenting the targeting of terrorist organization members in a conflict zone as an "attack on journalists" serves to encourage membership in the organization,

That an attempt was made to create a negative perception in public opinion by questioning the legitimacy of the state's operations against security forces,

That internal and external security and public order were targeted by spreading misleading information to the public,

That the statement was capable of disrupting public peace.

The prosecutor's office assessed that the suspects, through this post, "legitimized and encouraged the methods of the terrorist organization that involve force, violence, or threats."

REFERRED TO COURT 

In the prepared indictment, prison sentences of 3 to 12 years were requested for Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and board members for the crimes of "Propagating for a Terrorist Organization through the Press" and "Publicly Disseminating Misleading Information to the Public through the Press." The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office sent the indictment to the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, where the nearest high criminal court is located, for prosecution authorization under the Attorneyship Law.

Meanwhile, the Istanbul Bar Association will convene an Extraordinary General Assembly without elections on Sunday, February 23, at the Haliç Congress Center.

Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu made a post on his social media account following the news of the indictment. Kaboğlu stated, "The news of the indictment published in some media outlets has been put forward to reduce the interest our colleagues have shown in the extraordinary general assembly. We invite all our colleagues to our extraordinary general assembly tomorrow at the Haliç Congress Center, where we will proclaim what democracy is through the rule of law to those circles that do not recognize the law."