Lawyer Aysen Funda Ata has talked to ANF journalist Zeynep Kuray about the importance of the early election for the future of law.

Noting that the lawyers’ profession and the criminal proceedings had never found themselves in such a heavy situation, Ata pointed out that today's practices and pressures of the one-man regime contributes to a de facto abolition of law.

Ata studied with HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş at Ankara Faculty of Law and fought together with him at the Law Faculty Association which was established for the first time after the 12 September 1980 coup d'état.

Ata called on everyone to vote for Selahattin Demirtaş on 24 June.

Ata pointed out that when the law becomes inoperable, the criminal justice system has actually been operating in the framework of a hostile environment in the last 10 years.

“The regime considers all those who don’t think like them as enemy, also enemy in legal terms. This is a system designed to produce crime even where there is no actual crime”.

An example is the use of the “propaganda” accusation. Ten years ago, said Ata “nobody would be judged for making ‘propaganda’, yet in the past 4 years half the country has been accused of this. And this accusation applies to publishing something on social media as well as critizicing the power by saying a word in the bus”.

Stating that judgments are not carried out on a legal ground, Ata recalled the situation of the ‘academics for peace’ and said that even demanding peace is subjected to a fabricated judiciary.

"Lawyers are also targeted"

Pointing out that the lawyers have also become targets in this oppressive and illegal environment, Ata stated that many colleagues of hers have been imprisoned for carrying out their defense duties.

Ata remarked that lawyers are working in an environment in which they don’t know when the indictments will be prepared, when they will have to come out in front of the judge. “Lawyers are confronted with political cases. At the moment, the lawsuits become so political that we are talking about what to do between us, because we have no legal references. If the political climate softens, we are saying that we may get our friends out of prison. In this sense, we are actually in a state of politics, not of law”.

Ata recalled an incident at Sirnak Courthouse, where security at Court wanted to search lawyers by hand. “We are already being searched through X-ray  but to be searched by hand, that was a first”.

Ata said that for the first time in her professional life she had faced such a repressive situation, and added that even on 12 September 1980 the lawyers’ profession and criminal proceedings were not so bad.

For this reason- Ata said- the 24 June are so important for the country and everyone should work to ensure the HDP overcomes the threshold.

“If the opposition gets together and votes united for HDP, I think we will be able to regain many more rights and move forward”, Ata said and added: “Everyone sees how much rights we have already lost. This also applies to our legal profession”.

"They took Demirtaş hostage"

Ata pointed out that: “Selahattin Demirtaş is not a defendant but a colleague who has been taken hostage”.

Ata emphasized that the HDP presidential candidate is a man of law, who fought against injustice since he was a student.

“We will say: give a vote to Demirtaş, a vote to HDP, a vote for the rule of law, human rights, freedoms and peaceful coexistence”, said Ata.