Fırat Epözdemir, a board member of the İstanbul Bar Association who is standing trial on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and disseminating terrorist propaganda, was released pending trial following a hearing on Thursday, Turkish Minute reported.
Epözdemir was arrested on January 25 after returning from a Council of Europe meeting and was held for 127 days at Marmara Prison in Silivri. He appeared before the İstanbul 24th High Criminal Court for the first hearing of his trial on Thursday, which ordered his release under a travel ban. The next hearing is scheduled for September 9.
In his defense statement, Epözdemir called the charges against him politically motivated. “We read the indictment with many lawyers. We could not understand why a member of the İstanbul Bar Association’s Executive Board would be arrested on such simplistic allegations. We know this is not a legal decision but a political one,” he said.
Epözdemir was released Thursday evening and was greeted outside the prison by fellow members of the İstanbul Bar Association, lawyers, family members and supporters.
Speaking outside the prison, Epözdemir said: “We will continue to fight together for the development of this country’s law, democracy and human rights. As you know, I was unjustly and unlawfully detained in Silivri Prison for more than four months. That detention has ended today, but this injustice will never be erased.”
Epözdemir was detained at İstanbul Airport on January 23 upon returning from Strasbourg, where he attended a Council of Europe session. Prosecutors accused him of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as a result of an investigation seeking to identify the group’s members and operations.
The case against Epözdemir is part of a broader legal campaign against the management of the İstanbul Bar Association. In early January, a criminal case was filed against the association’s president, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu, and 10 board members including Epözdemir.
The charges stem from a social media post on December 21 in which the bar called for an effective investigation into the killings of Kurdish journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin in a suspected Turkish drone attack in Syria. The post also demanded the release of people who had been detained in connection with the incident.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation on December 22, accusing the bar’s leadership of spreading terrorist propaganda and publicly disseminating false information.
On January 14 the prosecutor’s office escalated the legal pressure by submitting a formal petition seeking the dismissal of the bar’s leadership. The 11 members of the board, including Kaboğlu and Epözdemir, face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.
The first hearing was held on May 29 and was adjourned until September.
