Reacting to the decision by an Istanbul court to acquit the president and the 10 members of the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association of terrorist propaganda charges, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe said:
“The decision to acquit the Istanbul Bar Association leadership of these unfounded charges is welcome news. This case was a clear misuse of criminal law and should never have been brought in the first place.
“For years, bar associations and lawyers in Türkiye have been targeted simply for carrying out their professional duties and speaking out in defence of human rights and the rule of law. While today’s ruling brings relief, it does not erase the chilling effect these proceedings have had and the harm experienced by the individuals subjected to this.
“Türkiye’s overly broad anti-terrorism laws are open to abuse and are frequently used by the judiciary to clamp down on protected rights. These laws must be urgently reviewed and brought in line with Türkiye’s international human rights obligations, including to ensure that the domestic legal framework protects and facilitates the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
“In light of their acquittal, we urgently call on the Turkish authorities to also bring an end to the parallel and politically motivated civil proceedings aimed at removing the association’s leadership.
“The Turkish authorities must respect and protect the independence and self-governance of bar associations, end the misuse of anti-terrorism and criminal laws to target lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society actors; and sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer.”
Background
All 11 members of the Istanbul Bar Association’s elected leadership were charged with “spreading terrorist propaganda” under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and “publicly disseminating misleading information” under Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code for issuing a public statement on 21 December 2024 concerning the killing of two journalists in northern Syria and the arrest of journalists and lawyers at a related peaceful protest in Istanbul the day before.
The final hearing in the criminal proceedings against the Istanbul Bar Association Executive Board took place at the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 26 between 5 and 9 January 2026.
On 9 January the court ruled that all 11 lawyers acquitted of both charges they faced. The verdict could be subject to appeal by the prosecutor.
For more information, please see Amnesty International’s joint statement with 37 human rights and lawyers’ organizations issued ahead of the hearing.
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