« Our bar association has always defended human rights and the rule of law. »

 

 

The Jury's Special Mention: "BAR OF THE YEAR 2025," awarded annually to a bar association that has distinguished itself for its commitment to the independence of lawyers, its exemplary fight for the rule of law, and for the suffering endured in the service of human rights, is awarded to the: ISTANBUL BAR ASSOCIATION - ISTANBUL BAROSU

 

 

 

 

""The Istanbul Bar Association, legal conscience and torchbearer of freedom" "

 

 

Mesdames, Messieurs,

Ladies and gentlemen, Dear colleagues,

 

To speak of the Istanbul Bar today is to evoke much more than a professional institution. lt is to pay tribute to a collective conscience, a centuries-old tradition of defending rights, and a courageous voice that has never been silenced in the face of injustice.
Founded in 1878, on April 5 to be precise (now celebrated as "Lawyers' Day") the Istanbul Bar Association is one of the oldest and most powerful bar associations in the world.
With more than 65,772 lawyers registered as of December 31, 2024, including 34,532 women and 31,240 men, it embodies the diversity, vitality, and complexity of contemporary Turkish society.
ln a metropolis that is both a crossroads of civilizations and a mirror of the tensions of the modern world, the Istanbul Bar Association has always chosen its side : that of law, justice, and freedom. lts history is one of courage and resistance.
Since its creation, the Istanbul Bar Association has distinguished itself through its unwavering commitment to the rule of law. Even during the Ottoman Empire, its members advocated for independent justice and equality before the law. During periods of crisis in the Turkish Republic, faced with coups, restrictions on freedoms, and political trials, the Istanbul Bar Association was often the last voice of legal reason. lt defended journalists, activists, judges, and ordinary citizens.
lt dared to denounce violations of fundamental rights, even when this meant exposing itself to repression or marginalization. And each time, it reiterated a simple but essential truth: "Without free lawyers, there is no free justice."
At the head of this iconic bar association today is Professer Lawyer Ibrahim Ôzden Kaboglu, elected in 2024.
An internationally renowned constitutionalist, former member of parliament, and respected academic, he embodies both the rigor of a jurist and the vision of a thinker. His career path is that of a man deeply committed to the Constitution, democracy, and human dignity.
Persecuted on several occasions for his positions, President Kaboglu has never given up defending the principle of the rule of law over power. Under his presidency, the Istanbul Bar Association continues this tradition of independence, stepping up its efforts to protect threatened lawyers, support fair trials, and remind the authorities that the bar is nota regulatory body, but a countervailing power.
The Istanbul Bar Association is a compass in the eye of the storm. ln recent years, there have been numerous attempts to weaken Istanbul Barosu - legislative reforms undermining the unity of bar associations, - legal proceedings against its leaders, - political pressure, disinformation campaigns... have followed one another without relent .
But far from being intimidated, the Istanbul Bar Association has responded with the firmness of the law and moral strength. Even today, the President of the Istanbul Bar Association and its Council are being prosecuted in criminal court for "terrorist propaganda" and "disseminating misleading information."
The crime committed: a statement by the Bar Association calling for the application of international humanitarian law and the opening of an investigation into two Turkish journalists (Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin) who were victims of a Turkish drone attack in Rojava (Syria on December 19, 2024) The next hearing will take place in Silivri in early January (starting on January 5).
We will undoubtedly be there in large numbers because the international community, from bar associations to lawyers, from the Council of Europe to Amnesty International, has reaffirmed and continues to reaffirm its support for the Istanbul Bar Association, an institution that is so essential to Turkish democracy.
A civil trial to remove the President of the Bar and 10 members of the Bar Council also took place, resulting in the removal of the President of the Bar and his Bar Council, fortunately without provisional enforcement.
Of course, an appeal is underway, and we will be there by their side. The Istanbul Bar Association is a school of collective courage: lt gives voice to thousands of lawyers who, every day, plead not only for their clients, but also for the very idea of justice.
By honoring the Istanbul Bar Association, we pay tribute to the noblest aspects of the legal profession: the refusai to remain silent, loyalty to the truth, and the tireless defense of freedom.
Their struggle is nota local struggle, it is a universal struggle. lt reminds us that justice is nota given, but a constant conquest
- and that bar associations around the world are the guardians of that conquest.
My dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, May we, like the Istanbul Bar Association, stand tall when the law falters, speak out when silence is imposed, and always defend, whatever the cost, the foundations of our profession and our humanity: justice and the rule of law.
Thank you.

 

DOMINIQUE ATTIAS

 

 

 

 

If for the second time in 40 years we are back in Russia, we cannot forget tonight, not as a preliminary but as a first and essential concern, that on three occasions already the harsh law imposed on this jury has inexorably forced it to turn to Iran, no doubt, but also that this is almost the fifth time that we must celebrate the courage, determination and resilience of the lawyers of Turkey.

Lancinante Turkey, it's true! Forty years ago, in April 1985, the first jury heard a tragic case from Turkey. He was a lawyer from the Diyarbakir Bar, who had been tortured. That was in 1985. I still remember him: his name was Hussein Yildirim. And even if his suffering could then be judged by the jury of that time less than that of another prisoner, already detained for more than 20 years in South African jails, his situation in Turkey was no less deeply tragic. Not many years have passed since then, and no one has come to bring us his procession of plural distress, uninterrupted fighting or disappointed hopes from the land of Turkey.

It is true that one would have been scrupulous to add a single word to what has just been said, both definitively and excellently, a few moments ago by Mrs. Vice-President Dominique Attias to properly celebrate the Istanbul Bar Association and President Kaboglu.

However, may we not remember that since 2000 the agony of the Kurdish people has haunted our minds in a haunting way. Nearly 30 years ago, the winner who chanted the break between two centuries, was sentenced to life imprisonment before being pardoned because he was blind. Esber Yagmurdereli was his name - he was certainly a lawyer for Bursa but he was also a poet who became one of the symbols of the struggle for freedom of expression in Turkey. He will have spent more than 17 years in prison. In 1997, because he too had made comments that displeased the authorities then in place. And this time he again sentenced to twenty-three years in prison because he had urged a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. As a result of his conviction, he was disbarred. With the exception of the large universalist organizations, the soon-to-be-secular FIDH and Amnesty, we were then little it is true, at that time to us; to move of this situation which was not yet part of the obligatory policy of the communication services of the bars. Fortunately, the vocations gradually awakened and the curse that befell the Kurdish people questioned the world consciousness.
Then for us, there was Muharrem Erbey, president of the IHD section of Diyarbakir, before we followed the slow agony of Ebru Timtik in the slow scansion of a drip that was going to be disconnected. Today, after the Diyarbakir Bar, it is the turn of the Istanbul Bar to suffer the persecution of black dresses in Turkey.