Turkish authorities have authorized an investigation into İzmir Bar Association President Sefa Yılmaz and board members over human rights reports prepared by the bar on alleged prison abuse and their participation in protests following the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, months after they were acquitted in an another official misconduct case.
The İzmir Bar Association said the Justice Ministry authorized the investigation on May 14 on accusations of misconduct in office, attempting to influence judicial proceedings and publicly disseminating misleading information.
The association said investigating bar associations for carrying out their professional and legal responsibilities amounts to questioning the public function of the legal profession and the fundamental principles of the rule of law.
İmamoğlu, widely seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was arrested in March 2025 on corruption charges that critics say are politically motivated and intended to sideline him ahead of the 2028 general election. His arrest sparked widespread protests during which nearly 2,000 people were detained nationwide.
The Union of Turkish Bar Associations and the bar associations of İstanbul, Ankara, Şanlıurfa, Muş, Ağrı and Antalya issued separate statements expressing support for the İzmir Bar Association and calling for an end to the investigation.
In a prior case Yılmaz and board members of the İzmir Bar Association were tried on accusations of neglecting or delaying official duties, but the İzmir 1st High Criminal Court acquitted all 22 defendants in February.
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials in İzmir have long accused the bar association of politicization, with criticism intensifying after the bar supported protests against the transfer of municipal property from the opposition-run İzmir Metropolitan Municipality to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
AKP İzmir lawmaker Mahmut Atilla Kaya has also criticized the bar’s stance, saying the establishment of a second bar association in the city had become a necessity. Efforts to gather the 2,000 signatures required from lawyers in İzmir to establish a second bar association have so far failed.
A 2020 amendment to attorneyship law allowed the creation of multiple bar associations in provinces with more than 5,000 registered lawyers. The reform was criticized by opposition parties and bar associations who argued it could lead to the politicization of the legal profession in favor of the government.
The İstanbul Bar Association’s executive board was also dismissed and later tried on accusations of spreading terrorist propaganda in 2025, but a Turkish court also acquitted the defendants in January 2026.
Critics say bar associations and lawyers defending opposition figures views or publicly criticizing government policies in Turkey have increasingly faced investigation and prosecution for their work, raising concerns over the erosion of legal independence.
In the latest global Rule of Law Index released in October 2025 by the World Justice Project, Turkey was ranked 118th out of 143 countries, falling one place from the previous year.
