Several lawyers were detained in house raids in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Some lawyers were also detained at the police headquarters where they went to meet their clients detained during the protests against the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. A total of 9 lawyers were detained.

 

The Lawyers' Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Headquarters made a statement. The statement reads: "Hundreds of citizens who exercised their right to freedom of expression, meeting and demonstration marches against the political operations in Istanbul were subjected to disproportionate intervention and torture by law enforcement officers, and hundreds of people, including our colleagues, were unlawfully detained as a result of the interventions.

 

Ten of our colleagues, including Özkan Yücel, former President of the Izmir Bar Association, were detained at the police headquarters or in house raids: 7 in Izmir, 1 in Ankara and 2 in Istanbul. Lawyers are the guarantors of protecting the rights of citizens. We do not accept the pressures aimed at silencing the defence!

 

The interventions against our colleagues and citizens must stop and those detained must be released immediately!"

 

DETAINED LAWYERS

 

The names of the 8 detained lawyers are as follows: Mert Batur, Özkan Yücel, Orhan Kiper, Ömer Can Seyman, Sedef Pınar Uzbağ, Göksel Akbaba, Selen Dendeş and Semra Demir.

 

Lawyer Deniz Demirdöğen was released.