Verdict reached in Istanbul Bar Association case: Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and the board removed from office

The second hearing of the lawsuit filed with the demand to terminate the duties of Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and the board members and to elect a new administration began at the 27th High Criminal Court.

Bar Association Presidents and lawyers began to gather in front of the courtroom.

12punto reports live from the courthouse...

Kaboğlu took the floor at the hearing and stated the following:

''We have a request to revoke the interim decision made in the previous session. In the previous session, we stated that Article 77/5 of the Attorneys' Law, which is the subject of the case, is unconstitutional, and we said that you should send it to the Constitutional Court (AYM) pursuant to Article 152 of the Constitution, but you rejected this. You did not provide a justification either. Your rejection decision is also unconstitutional. We once again request that you send the file to the Constitutional Court within the scope of our serious objection regarding unconstitutionality.''

Lawyers representing the Board Members are taking the floor and speaking.

Lawyer Baran Doğan, representing Bar Board Member Atty. Ezgi Şahin Yalvarıcı, said:

"The Istanbul Prosecutor's Office is doing bad things these days. First, they file a criminal case, then a civil case. This has become their procedure. They take the power of the media behind them and poison all the cases. The Prosecutor's Office has taken a hammer in its hand and thinks everyone is a nail. But we will show them that the bar association of 65 thousand lawyers is not a nail," he said.

Detained Bar Board Member Atty. Fırat Epözdemir took the floor and said, 'I don't think you can even reject the case without waiting for the criminal case. If you are going to accept this case, it seems you have no other choice! I suppose you have to wait. Do not think that the pressures on you do not reach our ears.'

Union of Turkish Bar Associations President Atty. Erinç Sağkan said, "This case does not concern 65 thousand lawyers, but 200 thousand lawyers in Turkey. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is pressing all the buttons and sees itself as unaccountable."

The hearing was adjourned until 13:30.

The hearing resumed after a half-hour break.

Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu: "This lawsuit, which aims to discredit and neutralize the Bar Association, violates Article 2 of the Constitution."

HEARING RESUMED

The hearing has resumed.

Istanbul Bar Association President Kaboğlu: '"There is no illegal organization intent or reference in our statement that is the subject of the case. The nature of the statement is determined by the science of human rights, not by the Prosecutor's Office's ideological way of thinking!"

Bar Association President Kaboğlu: "The work of the Istanbul Bar Association is being openly obstructed."

Following the judge's request to summarize his statements, İbrahim Kaboğlu added the following:

'I am not responsible for the filing of this unjust lawsuit nor for the lack of air in this environment. I did my duty, I am still trying to finish my statements while sweating.'

Kaboğlu continued his speech with the following expression:

'Was the Istanbul Bar Association the radish in the expression "the biggest radish is in the saddlebag"?'

The request to adjourn the hearing to another day was rejected by the court panel.

Former Istanbul Bar Association President Turgut Kazan took the floor and said, "This lawsuit was filed to suffocate the Istanbul Bar Association. What kind of law is this, what kind of judiciary is this!"

The hearing was adjourned.

TIME 18:05

The judge stated that he would not return unless the courtroom was cleared.

The Bar Association management is holding a meeting on how to proceed.

All lawyers are inside.

The Istanbul Bar Association Management submitted a written request for the judge to recuse himself.

All lawyers are leaving the hearing.

VERDICT REACHED

The Istanbul 2nd Civil Court of First Instance removed Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and the bar board from office.

Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and the bar board, against whom an investigation was launched on the allegation of "spreading misleading information to the public," were removed from office.

The following statements were made in the announcement:

As a result of the trial conducted with the indictment filed by our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the dismissal of the Istanbul Bar Association Board of Directors, the civil court of first instance has terminated the duties of Bar Association President İbrahim Özden Kabaoğlu and the board of directors.