Medine Mamedoğlu
The trial of lawyer Necat Çiçek, who is being prosecuted over his professional legal activities and his participation in press statements, was adjourned, with the court declining to lift a travel ban and judicial control measures imposed on him.
The eighth hearing in the case against Çiçek, who is on trial on charges of “membership in an organization” based on the statements of a confessor witness, was held at the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court in southeastern Turkey. In addition to his lawyers Mehdi Özdemir, Muhittin Muğuç and Gizem Miran, representatives from the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), the Diyarbakır Bar Association and a delegation from Lawyers Without Borders from France attended the hearing.
The hearing began with the identification of the defendant, after which lawyer Mehdi Özdemir delivered the first defense statement. In his defense statement, Özdemir emphasized that, considering the evidence in the file, no element of a crime had been established. Stating that the accusations were unfounded, he requested that the ongoing travel ban and judicial control measures imposed on his client be lifted.
Lawyers Muhittin Muğuç and Gizem Miran also stated that their client had carried out only professional activities and renewed the request for the lifting of the judicial control measures and the travel ban.
Following the defense statements, the court panel rejected the lawyers’ requests, citing the existence of another ongoing case against the defendant and the similarity of the alleged offenses. The panel also requested information on the status of an ongoing investigation file in Tekirdağ, a province in northwestern Turkey. The court adjourned the hearing until May 12 at 9:50 a.m. to address outstanding issues in the file.
Background of the case
Lawyer Necat Çiçek was detained on April 25, 2023, as part of an investigation launched on the basis of statements by confessor witness Ümit Akbıyık. On the same day, operations were carried out in 20 provinces across Turkey, during which around 200 people — including journalists, politicians and artists — were detained.
Of the 22 lawyers taken into custody, 18 were released with travel bans, while four lawyers were arrested pending trial. In the indictment prepared by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Çiçek faces up to 15 years in prison on charges including membership in the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), participation in press statements and allegedly “giving instructions to organization members.”
