A Turkish court has jailed two lawyers pending trial after they were detained in police raids carried out days before a NATO summit in Ankara, the Bianet news website reported.
The Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) said the accusations against Ezgi Önalan, head of its Istanbul branch, and lawyer Yunusemre Işık treat ordinary legal work as evidence, including client meetings, legal-fee payments and a phone call between Önalan and the head of the Istanbul Bar Association.
The ÇHD denied the allegations, saying the case was aimed at punishing lawyers for representing clients and opposing government policies ahead of the NATO summit.
The association said prosecutors cited Önalan’s meetings with clients, payments into her bank account for legal services and a phone conversation with Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu as grounds for her detention.
Önalan and Işık were among 43 people detained July 5 in an Istanbul-based operation carried out before the July 7-8 NATO summit in the Turkish capital. In the same investigation 25 people were jailed pending trial and 18 were released under judicial supervision, a form of conditional release that can include travel bans or regular check-ins with the police. The raids targeted lawyers, journalists, students, association members and political party representatives.
Authorities said the investigation is being conducted over alleged links to what authorities described as the youth structure of THKP/C Dev-Yol.
The Turkish People’s Liberation Party/Front (THKP/C) was a Marxist-Leninist militant organization active in the 1970s. Turkish authorities use the name THKP/C Dev-Yol for its alleged successor and describe it as a terrorist organizations.
The NATO summit in Ankara brought together heads of state and government from member countries and key partners on July 7-8. The meeting was held under heightened security and amid restrictions on protests in the capital.
