An Istanbul court has acquitted the president and ten members of the executive board of the Istanbul Bar Association of charges related to terrorist propaganda, a decision welcomed by Amnesty International. Esther Major, Deputy Director for Research in Europe at Amnesty, described the ruling as a relief, emphasizing that the case was a clear misuse of criminal law and should never have been brought. She noted that for years, lawyers and bar associations in Türkiye have faced targeting for performing their professional duties and defending human rights and the rule of law, and while the acquittal provides immediate relief, it does not erase the chilling effect of the proceedings.
Major highlighted that Türkiye’s broad anti-terrorism laws are frequently abused by the judiciary to restrict protected rights and called for urgent reform to align domestic legislation with international human rights obligations. This includes ensuring the protection of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. She also urged Turkish authorities to end parallel civil proceedings against the association’s leadership and to respect the independence and self-governance of bar associations, while protecting lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society actors from politically motivated legal actions.
The charges stemmed from a statement issued by the Istanbul Bar Association on 21 December 2024 regarding the killing of two journalists in northern Syria and the arrest of journalists and lawyers during a peaceful protest in Istanbul the day before. The leadership faced prosecution under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terrorism Law for “spreading terrorist propaganda” and Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code for “publicly disseminating misleading information.”
The final hearing was held at Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No. 26 from 5 to 9 January 2026, resulting in the acquittal of all 11 members on both charges. The verdict may still be subject to appeal by the prosecutor.
