In Istanbul, members of numerous lawyers' associations protest against the cancellation of the general assembly of bar associations. "Rule of law instead of police state", chanted lawyers at a rally that took place in a side street next to the office of the Istanbul Chamber in the central district of Beyoğlu under police siege. Several journalists were threatened with arrest to stop the documentation of the protest. Passers-by who expressed their displeasure about the massive police presence were also insulted and mobbed by officials.

The General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association was to be held this Saturday at the Haliç Congress Center. However, the meeting was cancelled after the Ministry of the Interior issued a decree on major events, citing the danger posed by the coronavirus. The ban, however, is applied only against meetings, sessions and other activities of professional chambers, associations, cooperatives and civil society organizations-all of which are traditionally critical of the government. Against this background, the General Assembly of the Medical Association cannot take place either. The decree issued by the AKP government is to be repealed on December 1 at the earliest. The High Electoral Committee (YSK) has already rejected an appeal against it as unfounded. The Chambers are outraged because the decree has no legal basis.

On Saturday morning a demonstration of lawyer federations took place in the Beyoğlu district. Previously, the lawyers had been denied access to the Haliç Congress Center by the police. A statement had said that human rights, democracy and the rule of law no longer existed in Turkey and that the constitution was perceived as covered in dust.

Bar associations critical of the government declared enemy of Erdoğan

In July, the Turkish parliament passed a controversial amendment to the law on the reorganization of bar associations. The bill, which was introduced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Islamist-conservative ruling party AKP and the ultra-nationalist MHP, aims to politically divide the chambers, as the new regulation allows the establishment of several bar associations in provinces with more than 5,000 members. The chambers, which are traditionally critical of the government, issue lawyers' licenses and speak for the approximately 128,000 lawyers in the country. The Istanbul Association has the most members with 46,052 registered. In second place is the chamber in Ankara. Both have long been a particular thorn in the side of Erdoğan.

The AKP argues that the large number of members in the bar associations currently makes communication difficult. However, the currently existing bar associations, as well as many lawyers and activists, see the reform rather as a clear goal to reduce the influence of the chambers critical of the government by creating several new ones. The project also contributes to undermining the independence and impartiality of the judicial system.