Presumably before the parliamentary summer recess, the government alliance of Erdoğan’s Islamist AKP and the extreme right-wing MHP will decide on a change in the electoral system for the administrations of the bar associations. The draft is expected to be brought to the parliament’s agenda next week.

The bill was triggered by a statement by the Ankara Bar Association, which strongly criticised the homophobic statements of the chairman of the state religion authority Diyanet. In a Friday sermon at the beginning of Ramadan, the month of fasting, at the end of April, the cleric Ali Erbaş branded adultery and homosexuality as causes of illness and as un-Islamic. As an example he referred to the spread of HIV/Aids and also attributed the outbreak of the coronavirus to homosexuality and the living together of unmarried couples.

Bar Association of Amed

The Ankara Bar Association accused Erbaş, who had in the past protected misogynists and ignored child abuse, of degrading people and making them the target of attacks. "It should not surprise anyone if Ali Erbaş in his next speech would call on the people to burn women as witches in public places", the text also said. The association said that Erdoğan stood behind his homophobic Diyanet boss and rated the criticism of the lawyers' association as "anti-state". He then instructed his party to draft a law to bring the bar associations into line. An investigation was also opened against the chamber in Ankara for "vilification of religious values".

Bar Association of Urfa

In early June, 79 bar associations issued a joint statement calling on the government to withdraw the controversial draft law and at least keep its doors open for dialogue and negotiations on the planned changes, saying that otherwise there would be protests. Since Erdoğan showed no reaction, the chambers announced a march to Ankara under the motto "Freedom for the defence". Since Friday, lawyers and the chairmen of 41 lawyers' associations, including the three largest Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara, as well as Amed (Diyarbakir), Van and Mardin have been marching towards the Turkish capital. Every day, ten kilometres were symbolically covered on foot, the rest of the distance by car. The action met with broad approval nationwide, and in many cities the lawyers were received by large crowds of people. In the course of today, the demonstrators will reach Ankara and continue their protest against the government's plans in front of the seat of the Turkish National Assembly. Various actions are planned around the parliament building.