A Turkish court has ordered the release of Rezan Epözdemir, a Turkish lawyer known for representing clients in several high-profile murder and fraud cases, after he spent five months in prison on charges including acting as an intermediary in bribery and aiding an outlawed group, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Anka news agency.
The 5th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that Epözdemir be released pending trial under a judicial supervision measure banning him from leaving the country.
The court decided to keep another defendant in the case, former prosecutor Cengiz Çallı, in pretrial detention.
Epözdemir was detained on August 10 as part of two separate investigations launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and was arrested four days later on charges of facilitating bribery.
Prosecutors also cited allegations of aiding the faith-based Gülen movement, which Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party designates as a terrorist organization, though those charges did not result in his arrest at the time.
The bribery case was transferred to the Supreme Court of Appeals because one of the defendants is a former prosecutor. Prosecutors allege that Epözdemir acted as an intermediary in a bribery scheme involving a detained suspect, an accusation he has denied.
Epözdemir had been held at Karatepe Prison in Tekirdağ province.
Following his release the lawyer said in a post on X that testimony heard during Tuesday’s hearing, along with phone traffic and base station records, showed the accusations against him were false and defamatory.
Epözdemir, 41, is known for representing clients in several high-profile murder and fraud cases. He has previously described the investigations into him as a smear campaign linked to professional disputes in major financial cases, an allegation prosecutors have not addressed publicly.
Turkey has carried out sweeping legal actions in recent years targeting lawyers, journalists and opposition figures, often under broad counterterrorism and corruption laws, drawing criticism from rights groups over judicial independence and due process.
A graduate of Marmara University’s law faculty, Epözdemir has represented the families of Münevver Karabulut, murdered by his boyfriend in 2009; university student Pınar Gültekin, killed in 2020; and victims of Turkey’s 2023 earthquakes. He is currently representing the family of Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi, a 16-year-old Italian-Turkish youth stabbed to death in İstanbul earlier this year. He also served as deputy chair of Galatasaray Sports Club in 2021.
