In a statement in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse in Istanbul, legal organizations dedicated Lawyers' Day to their colleagues who are jailed and those who were killed in the 6 February earthquakes.

HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) MP Musa Piroğlu also attended the press briefing where a message sent by lawyer Barkın Timtik, who is jailed in Silivri Prison pending trial in the Contemporary Lawyers Association-People's Law Office case, was read out.

Lawyer Çiğdem Akbulut, who read out the statement on behalf of legal organizations, said: “We respectfully remember the memory of our colleagues who lost their lives in the recent earthquakes. We reiterate here that our solidarity with our colleagues who practice their profession in the earthquake zone will be maintained.”

Akbulut commemorated their colleagues who lost their lives in struggle, in the persons of former Amed Bar Association head Tahir Elçi and Lawyer Ebru Timtik. Akbulut sent greetings to jailed colleagues.

“The government seized the licenses of lawyers who are not murdered or jailed,” she said, noting that female lawyers, on the other hand, were harassed by their bosses.

'STRUGGLE FOR PEOPLE ALONGSIDE PEOPLE'

After the statement, a letter sent by Barkın Timtik, who is jailed in Silivri Prison in the ÇHD-HHB trial, was read out. Timtik said: “We will continue our struggle for rights and justice for the people alongside the people.”

'NO ONE IS SAFE IN A COUNTRY WHERE LAWYERS ARE ARRESTED'

HDP Deputy Musa Piroğlu said: “If lawyers in a country carry out a death fast demanding a fair trial and lose their lives, if lawyers in a country are tried in courts filled by the police and gendarmerie and are arrested or held captive for doing their job, no one in that country can talk about justice. No one who lives in such a country is safe.”