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European Democratic Lawyers Denounce Repression and Attacks on Gaza Solidarity

Defending human rights is not an act of treason or terrorism. Lawyers, activists, and ordinary citizens who raise their voices in support of dignity, justice and accountability deserve protection, not persecution.

European democratic values are measured by how we protect the voices that challenge power, expose injustice, and defend the rights of the oppressed. In the face of what is increasingly evidence of repression, we call on all democratic institutions, governments, and professionals of law to act — to defend the right to dissent, to protect human rights defenders and lawyers, and to restore respect for rule of law and fundamental freedoms.

Avocats européens démocrates – European Democratic Lawyers (AED -EDL) express profound concern over the escalating criminalization of solidarity with the Palestinian in Gaza, and the systematic targeting of human rights defenders and lawyers. These developments represent a direct assault on democratic freedoms, including the rights to free expression, peaceful assembly, and access to justice.AED – EDL recalls that article 7 of the Convention of the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer guarantees the right of lawyers, individually and collectively, and of professional associations to promote the rule of law and adherence to it, to take part in public discussion on the substance, interpretation and application of existing and proposed legal provisions, judicial decisions, the administration of and access to justice and the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as to make proposals for reforms concerning these matters

Based on article 18 of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, article 6-5 of the abovementioned Convention also indicates that Parties shall ensure that lawyers do not suffer adverse consequences as a result of being identified with their clients or their clients’ cause.

This principle is not merely an ethical expectation ; it also corresponds to binding obligations through human rights treaties to which many states are parties and through relevant jurisprudence.

In recent months these efforts have not only silenced dissent, but targeted human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and ordinary citizens. The rule of law, free speech, and due process are under threat, and urgent international action is required.

Targeting of lawyers, legal institutions, and legal infrastructure.
 In Gaza, Israel has bombed the headquarters of the Palestine Bar Association in Gaza, destroyed archives, and obliterated the legal infrastructure of justice, including courthouses and the Palace of Justice. At least two-hundred Palestinian lawyers have been killed, while those who survive face the destruction of their homes, offices, and livelihoods.

U.S. sanctions against Al-Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) – key Palestinian human rights organizations pursuing international criminal accountability for crimes committed in Palestine – directly and adversely interfering with the ability of Palestinian lawyers to carry out their crucial work.

 In the West Bank, lawyers continue to endure daily harassment, restrictions. These attacks not only target individuals but also seek to annihilate the very possibility of justice for Palestinians. The AED recalls that the protection of lawyers and judicial institutions is a cornerstone of the rule of law, and their destruction is itself a crime that demands accountability.

This targeting of lawyers and the undermining of the legal profession undermines any remaining institutional justice. AED-EDL recalls that lawyers are essential for upholding rule of law and human rights; repression of their role threatens not only individual defenders but the entire justice

Criminalization of Solidarity and the Assault on Democratic Rights and Freedoms
The criminalization of solidarity and the penalizing those who express support, organize or protest in support of the Palestinian people weakens democratic debate, chills civil society, and threatens core constitutional rights in many European states.

To a different degree across Europe, solidarity movements are facing bans, prosecutions, and legal harassment for public demonstrations or symbols supporting Palestinian circumstances.

Lawyers, human rights defenders, activists, and journalists are facing escalating repression, including detentions, prosecutions under counter-terrorism legislation, bans on organizations, and wide-scale interventions curtailing the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. 

AED strongly protests the systematic campaign in various European countries to silence and punish voices in solidarity with Palestine

AED-EDL calls on:

  1. States in Europe and beyond to:
    ⦁        Immediately halt arrests and prosecutions solely for peaceful expression, protest, or solidarity with Gaza. Drop charges against those detained for non-violent expression.
    ⦁        End or severely limit the use of administrative detention without charge or trial; ensure due process, legal representation, clear charges, and transparency.
    ⦁        Respect judicial independence and abstain to political pressure on the judiciary aimed at criminalizing legitimate dissent. 
  2. International and regional human rights bodies to:
    ⦁        Monitor and document incidents of criminalization of solidarity, attacks on lawyers, suppression of civil liberties in the Gaza context and in diaspora/solidarity movements.
    ⦁        Issue urgent recommendations and, where appropriate, rulings or resolutions to protect defenders and ensure compliance with international obligations.
  3. Bar associations and lawyer organizations to 
    ⦁        stand in solidarity with the Palestinian lawyers and bar associations, who are themselves under attack being targeted and continue to endure daily harassment, restrictions;
    ⦁        to support defenders and lawyers who have been condemned or are facing prosecutions for the sole exercice of the right to protest and freedom of expression in solidarity with Palestinian people; 


(4) https://www.index-of-repression.org/

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Ending the Genocide in Gaza, Upholding International Law, Defending the Rule of Law, Democracy and Long-standing World Peace

The  UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has confirmed in its report of September 16, 2025 that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip.

This determination reflects what legal experts, civil society, and humanitarian actors have denounced for months: the mass killing of civilians, the destruction of essential infrastructure, and the deliberate use of famine as a weapon of war, contributing to the intentional and systematic destruction of Palestinians as a group. Hospitals, universities, schools, and housing have been systematically destroyed. Access to food, water, and medicine has been deliberately obstructed, and famine has been formally declared by UN mechanisms.

This is not a humanitarian crisis caused by natural disaster; it is the direct result of deliberate policies implemented by the government of Israel and its Prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently facing an arrest warrant issued on 21 November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine.

Defiance of International Justice

On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its Advisory Opinion, finding that Israel’s occupation policies and practices, including in East Jerusalem, are incompatible with international law. It emphasized that all states have an obligation not to recognize or aid unlawful situations and to act to bring them to an end.

The UN General Assembly welcomed the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion and ordered Israel to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory as soon as possible, but no later than September 18, 2025. This deadline has now passed, yet the illegal occupation continues. In fact, the Israeli government has continued to escalate violations: accelerating settlement expansion, pursuing forcible transfer, and openly defying binding international legal rulings. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that impunity is fueling ongoing atrocities and that the credibility of international law itself is at stake.

The AED also condemns the United States’ punitive measures against UN experts and its announced and earlier designated sanctions against judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is equally alarmed by the measures taken against the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, and human rights organizations engaged in the ICC’s criminal investigation of Israeli members of government. By targeting independent international justice mechanisms, these actions not only obstruct victims’ access to justice but undermine the global system of accountability painstakingly built after the horrors of the Second World War.

Europe’s Complicity Through Inaction

European governments and the EU have failed in their legal and moral obligations. Despite mounting evidence of genocide and the ICJ’s rulings, they have refused to adopt necessary measures, accordingly to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which provides that states are obliged to prevent and punish genocide. Inaction in the face of overwhelming evidence is not neutrality — it can be interpreted as complicity.

Breaking Silence: International Solidarity in Action

The AED also salutes the courage of all the solidarity activists that seek to break the unlawful blockade of Gaza and deliver essential humanitarian supplies. UN experts have affirmed the legitimacy of this action and called for full protection of the Flotilla and its participants. In the face of deliberate starvation policies, the Global Sumud Flotilla represents the spirit of international solidarity and civil resistance against impunity. 

The AED reaffirms its support for such initiatives and condemns the unlawful and forceful interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels and detention of the solidarity activists off the coast of Gaza for just carrying out an entirely peaceful humanitarian mission.

Solidarity with Palestinian Lawyers

The AED expresses its full solidarity with Palestinian lawyers and bar association, who are themselves under attack. Israel has bombed the headquarters of the Palestine Bar Association in Gaza, destroyed archives, and obliterated the legal infrastructure of justice, including courthouses, law offices and the Palace of Justice. At least two-hundred Palestinian lawyers have been killed, while those who survive face the destruction of their homes, offices, and livelihoods. (11)

The AED also condemns the U.S. sanctions against Al-Haq, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) – key Palestinian human rights organizations pursuing international criminal accountability for crimes committed in Palestine – directly and adversely interfering with the ability of Palestinian lawyers to carry out their crucial work. (12)

In the West Bank, lawyers continue to endure daily harassment, restrictions. These attacks not only target individuals but also seek to annihilate the very possibility of justice for Palestinians. The AED recalls that the protection of lawyers and judicial institutions is a cornerstone of the rule of law, and their destruction is itself a crime that demands accountability.

In light of the gravity of the situation, AED urgently calls upon EU governments to take action to establish:

  • An immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, immediate, the liberation of all hostages and political prisoners illegally detained.
  • The recognition of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and concrete steps to end the unlawful occupation.
  • Unhindered and comprehensive humanitarian access to end the man-made famine without delay.
  • Full support for international accountability, including ICC investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for genocide and other international crimes.
  • Effective sanctions against Israel, including the suspension of arms transfers and all international agreements that facilitate grave violations of international law.

These demands are urgent not only for the survival and dignity of the Palestinian people but also for the integrity of the international legal order and the health of democracy itself. To remain silent or inactive in the face of genocide is to betray the very foundations of international law.

The AED stands with all those who defend justice, human rights, and peace, and reaffirms its commitment to fight against impunity, and the erosion of democratic freedoms.


European Democratic Lawyers (AED)F

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Justice Delayed: Lawyers associations condemn the European Court of Human Rights’ Inaction on Lawyers’ Cases in Turkey

For years, these lawyers have faced politically motivated prosecutions in Turkey, marked by flagrant violations of international fair trial standards. They were arrested, tried, and convicted on charges largely derived from their professional duties as defence lawyers, such as attending human rights protests, defending political opponents, or advising clients on their right to remain silent.

Different fact-finding missions have documented grave breaches: judges and prosecutors acting under political pressure, the denial of defense rights, reliance on anonymous witnesses, and punishment of lawyers for performing their professional duties. These findings, which are consistent with reports from UN bodies and leading international NGOs, highlight a systematic erosion of the rule of law in Turkey.

The findings of these missions are not mere allegations but are corroborated by the highest human rights bodies within the Council of Europe itself. The former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in her official report, conducted a meticulous examination of the ÇHD trial and concluded that the court ‘rejected all requests for defence witnesses, as well as over 100 separate investigation requests… without any reasoning’ and that the very act of ‘the exercise of the profession of lawyer was considered an aggravating circumstance’ in sentencing. Most alarmingly, the Commissioner found that the conviction relied on evidence such as ‘the persons the lawyers represented’ and their ‘participation in different lawful events’, leading her to the unequivocal conclusion that these elements ‘corroborate the allegation that the legitimate professional activities of a defence lawyer can be considered as incriminating evidence’.

This authoritative finding from the Council of Europe’s own principal human rights advocate was published in 2019. It served as an unequivocal, early warning to the European Court of Human Rights that a Member State was judicializing repression and turning the practice of law into a crime.
The Commissioner’s report laid bare a trial so bereft of fairness that it contravened the most fundamental principles of the Convention. That the Court has allowed the subsequent applications from these lawyers to remain in a procedural limbo for years after such a clear and damning indictment from a sister institution is not merely a delay; it is a dereliction of duty. It signals a catastrophic failure to heed its own system’s alarms and a breach of trust with the victims, for whom the Commissioner’s words were supposed to trigger an urgent judicial response, not years of silence.

The credibility of the Court, and the hope of countless victims, hangs in the balance.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of gross violations of fair trial rights, systemic denial of due process, and politically motivated prosecutions, the Court has failed to act with the urgency demanded by the situation. The consequences of this inaction are devastating. Many of the accused lawyers remain behind bars, in prolonged pre-trial detention serving lengthy sentences handed after proceedings that blatantly contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.


Others, including Ebru Timtik, paid with their lives—she died in August 2020 after a 238-day hunger strike demanding the right to a fair trial.

Compounding this injustice is the Court’s protracted procedural inertia in these specific matters. It is a matter of profound alarm that despite applications concerning these mass trials of lawyers being lodged with the Court as far back April 2021, the process of communication—the crucial first step where the Turkish government is formally required to respond to the allegations—has yet to be initiated in numerous cases.

The initial application dated 29 April 2021 comprises complaints pertaining to (pre-trial) detention. Applications regarding the right to a fair trial were made on 15 March 2023.

This years-long delay at the very threshold of examination is indefensible and runs directly counter to the Court’s own established principles on the imperative of expeditious justice, especially where fundamental rights are at immediate risk.

The undersigned firmly denounce the unacceptable delay by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in examining the urgent cases submitted concerning the mass trials of lawyers, human rights defenders in Turkey.

The Court itself has repeatedly stressed the importance of administering justice without delays which might jeopardise its effectiveness and credibility (Scordino v. Italy (no. 1) [GC], § 224) and judged that “Long periods during which the proceedings … stagnate…” without any explanations being forthcoming are not acceptable under the provision of article 6 of the Convention (Beaumartin v. France, § 33).

Undue delay undermines the effectiveness of the right of individual petition under article 34, reducing it to a purely formal mechanism without practical consequence.
This delay has not only left individual applicants without remedy but has also emboldened the Turkish authorities to continue their repression with impunity. The Court’s prolonged silence effectively legitimizes these violations and undermines the credibility of the European human rights system as a whole. For lawyers and defenders imprisoned merely for upholding their professional responsibilities, justice delayed has become justice denied.

We recall that the Court has both the mandate and the moral duty to provide effective and prompt remedies to victims of rights violations. In the face of ongoing persecution and systematic abuse, prioritizing and expediting these cases should have been imperative. Instead, the prolonged inaction signals indifference to those for whom the European Court of Human Rights is their last recourse for justice for our collegues of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and the People’s Law Office (HHB).

We therefore call on the European Court of Human Rights to immediately accelerate the examination of these cases, to issue interim measures where necessary.
Anything less would amount to complicity in the erosion of fundamental freedoms, setting a dangerous precedent for Europe and beyond.

Timely examination and determination of these applications are essential to restore confidence in the Court as the final guardian of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in Europe.

Justice delayed in this context is not merely a procedural shortcoming, delay erodes confidence in the Court itself and weakens the European system of human rights protection

The credibility of the Court, and the hope of countless victims, hangs in the balance.
Justice delayed is justice denied. The European Court of Human Rights must act now!

SIGNATURES
Arab Lawyers Association, UK
Asociación Americana de Juristas
Avocats européens démocrates – European democratic lawyers (AED – EDL)
Defense Commission of the Barcelona Bar Association
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer
Human Rights Legal Project – Samos
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
International Association of Russian Advocates
Osservatorio avvocati minacciati of Unione Camere penali italiane
Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD), Turkey
Republikanischer Anwältinnen – und Anwälteverein e.V. (RAV)
Syndicat des avocat.es de France
Syndicat des avocats pour la Démocratie
The New York City Bar Association

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Joint Statement on the Arrest and Detention of Lawyer Ruken Gülağacı

The undersigned bar associations and lawyers’ rights organisations express their deep concern over the detention of lawyer Ruken Gülağacı on 20 May 2025. On 21 May, the Criminal Peace Judgeship issued a house arrest order against Ms Gülağacı—an alarming escalation that further compounds our concern.


Ms Gülağacı is a member of the Istanbul Bar Association and an executive board member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (Özgürlük için Hukukçular Derneği – ÖHD), and frequently represents academics, lawyers, and Kurdish politicians. She is also an active member of the Foundation for Society and Legal Studies (TOHAV), a board member of the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), and a dedicated advocate for human rights in Türkiye.


On the evening of 20 May 2025, Ms Gülağacı was arrested by police officers while visiting Kandıra Prison to meet with her client. She was detained overnight at the police station and transferred the next day to Çağlayan Courthouse, where she gave her statement before the Prosecutor at approximately 3 PM local time. According to the lawyers accompanying Ms Gülağacı, the Prosecutor’s questioning directly targeted her professional activities. She was interrogated about the clients she represents and her meetings with them—actions that are part and parcel of a lawyer’s core duties. It was evident that her lawful professional work, and by extension her right to freedom of expression and association, was being criminalised.


Following her interrogation, the Prosecutor referred Ms Gülağacı to the Criminal Peace Judgeship with a request for judicial control in the form of house arrest. A house arrest order was then issued in absentia, without her being brought before a judge, and solely on the basis of documents. No written justification was provided for this decision, in direct contradiction with Constitutional Court precedent and despite the explicit request of her defence counsel for her to appear in person. This ruling, rendered without even the minimal procedural guarantees, will be remembered as a grave breach of judicial independence and a stain on the rule of law.


We are deeply concerned that Ms Gülağacı’s arrest and ongoing restriction of liberty are directly linked to her work as a lawyer. The identification of Ms Gülağacı with her clients or their causes is a violation of international standards protecting the independence of the legal profession.


Further procedural irregularities cast doubt on the fairness of the proceedings: Ms Gülağacı was not allowed to defend herself in person before the court; and she was arrested without prior formal notification, despite being a practicing lawyer who attends court daily. These factors alone render the arrest procedure defective from the outset and raise serious concerns regarding the right to a fair trial.


These events unfold amidst a broader and troubling context. Türkiye is currently witnessing an unprecedented crackdown on the legal profession and civil society. In the wake of mass protests following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, hundreds of demonstrators have been detained, often without access to legal counsel or procedural safeguards. The legal representation of political dissidents is increasingly treated as a criminal act in itself.


The measures taken against Ms Gülağacı constitute a direct and dangerous interference with the right to legal defence, impede access to justice, and further criminalise the work of lawyers representing dissenting voices. This marks a deepening erosion of the guarantees of a fair trial and the rule of law.


As a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, Türkiye is obligated to ensure that no one is subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention and that any deprivation of liberty is lawful and justified. Fair trial rights, including the presumption of innocence and access to legal representation, must be upheld at all times.

In line with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers:
• Principle 16 affirms that lawyers must be able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.
• Principle 18 provides that lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.
We, the undersigned, call on the Turkish authorities to:
• Immediately and unconditionally lift the order of house arrest against Ruken Gülağacı and the release of all other lawyers detained solely for performing their professional duties;
• Ensure that pre-trial detention and house arrest are applied only as exceptional measures of last resort, with full respect for due process and the right to be heard before a judge;
• End all forms of harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary detention targeting lawyers, and refrain from unlawfully identifying lawyers with their clients or their clients’ political or social positions;
• Promptly sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, thereby reinforcing its commitment to the international legal framework governing the independence and protection of legal professionals.

We will continue to closely monitor the case of Ms Gülağacı and the broader situation facing the legal profession in Türkiye.


Signatories:
• Asociación de Derecho Penitenciario “Rebeca Santamalia” – Estado español (ASDEPRES)
• Asociación Libre de Abogacia (ALA) (Spain)
• Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos de Andalucía (APDHA)
• Avocats Européens Démocrates – European Democratic Lawyers
• Bologna Bar Association (Italy)
• CCBE – Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
• Cooperative of Women Lawyers in Barcelona (IACTA)
• Cyprus Democratic Lawyers Association (CDLA)
• Défense Sans Frontière – Avocats Solidaires.
• Democratic Jurists (Italy)
• Democratic Lawyers of Switzerland (DJS-JDS)
• Deutscher Anwaltverein (German Bar Association)
• European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
• Euskal Herriko Giza eskubideen Behatokia ( Basque Country)
• Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer (the Netherlands)
• Lawyer Leonardo Arnau, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee of Consiglio Nazionale Forense (Italy)
• Il Centro di Ricerca ed Elaborazione per la Democrazia ( CRED) (Italy)
• Institut des Droits de l’Homme du Barreau de Montpellier (France)
• Institute for the Rule of Law of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA-IROL)
• International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
• International Observatory for Lawyers in Danger (OIAD)
• Lawyers for Lawyers (the Netherlands)
• Legal Centre Lesvos, (Greece)
• Legal Team Italia
• Le SAD – Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie (Belgium)
• MAF-DAD – Association for Democracy and International Law e.V. (Germany)
• Osservatorio Avvocati Minacciati (Italy)
• Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein (RAV e.V.) (Germany)
• Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland
• The Defence Commission of the Barcelona Bar Association
• The Law Society of England and Wales (UK)
• The Norwegian Bar Association
• Turkey Litigation Support Project (TLSP)
• Turin Bar Association (Italy)
• Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane (UCPI)
• Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen e.V. (VDJ) (Germany)
• Vereniging Sociale Advocatuur Nederland (VSAN) (the Netherlands)

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On the Revocation of the President of the Istanbul Bar Association.

AED- EDL firmly condemns the revocation of the Istanbul Bar President İbrahim Kaboğlu, and the dissolution of the Board for alleged acts of terrorist propaganda.
 
This dissolution follows the judicial procedure initiated on January 14, 2025 by the Istanbul Prosecutor General in retaliation for the statement issued by the Bar Association on December 21, 2024 condemning the deaths of journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were allegedly killed in a Turkish drone strike in northern Syria.

AED-EDL strongly recalls that professional organisations, including the Bars and Law Societies, have the right and duty to express their views on matters of public interest, in particular when they concern the rule of law and human rights.

This dissolution is an instrumentalization of legal proceedings by the Turkish authorities with the sole aim of preventing the Istanbul Bar Association from exercising its fundamental right to freedom of expression in accordance with international instruments and the principles governing the legal profession.
 
The court decision is a clear attack on the independence and functioning of the Istanbul Bar Association, an institution that plays together with the professional organisation a vital role in safeguarding human rights and defending the rule of law in Turkey.

AED-EDL urges the Turkish authorities not to implement this decision which clearly violates article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers

The AED-EDL express its full support and deepest solidarity to all the member of Istanbul Bar Association and its President who are once again facing these measures, which are a flagrant violation of international human rights law and the principles governing the legal profession.

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Turkey must do its part to achieve peace following Abdullah Öcalan’s call!

There is a historic opportunity for lasting peace for Turkey and the region. Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace and a democratic society, shared with the public on February 27, 2025, is a critical step towards ending the long-standing conflict and violence and
initiating a democratic resolution process. This call not only carries great potential for the stability and protection of human rights in Turkey but also for the entire region.


Peace is one of the most fundamental values of humanity and is at the forefront of the universal principles that form the basis of international law. It is also an indispensable necessity for everyone to fully benefit from human rights. As a state,
Turkey must fulfil its responsibilities to its own people and the people of the region, meet its obligations arising from international law, and take the necessary steps to
establish peace.


In this process, creating conditions that will allow Abdullah Öcalan’s active participation in the peace process is of great importance. This not only ensures the protection of his fundamental rights, including the right to communicate with the
outside world and the ‘right to hope’ in response to over 25 years of imprisonment but also provides a significant opportunity for the implementation of democratization and the principles of the rule of law.


According to the United Nations Right to Peace Declaration, the establishment of peace requires ensuring equality, justice, and the supremacy of law; it necessitates building a society free from fear and deprivation, and free from discrimination. Accordingly, it is essential for Turkey to quickly review its penal laws, anti-terrorism laws, and similar regulations in the light of the decisions and recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights and international legal mechanisms, and to implement the necessary reforms. Ensuring judicial independence must be one of the cornerstones of this process. Additionally, for the achievement of societal peace, Turkish authorities need to plan and implement necessary regulations concerning political prisoners in jails.

Furthermore, cultural and social adjustments should be made in line with the necessities of a pluralistic society, and an environment where everyone has equal rights should be created.
In essence, the state of Turkey and the Turkish people are faced with a historic peace opportunity after a conflict process that has lasted 50 years. Authorities are obligated to ensure the cessation of arms and to establish an environment where the people of Turkey can enjoy peace and tranquillity with equal rights and freedoms.

We, the undersigned legal organizations, call on Turkey and all actors of peace to seize this historic opportunity and take the steps required by the peace process. Every step taken towards peace and the strengthening of human rights, justice, and democracy not only holds great importance for the future of Turkey but for the entire region as well. The construction of peace is our common responsibility. In this context, we call on all international public opinion to support the peace call and take an active role in fulfilling the requirements of this call.

There is a historic opportunity for lasting peace for Turkey and the region. Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace and a democratic society, shared with the public on February 27, 2025, is a critical step towards ending the long-standing conflict and violence and
initiating a democratic resolution process. This call not only carries great potential for the stability and protection of human rights in Turkey but also for the entire region. Peace is one of the most fundamental values of humanity and is at the forefront of the universal principles that form the basis of international law. It is also an indispensable necessity for everyone to fully benefit from human rights. As a state, Turkey must fulfil its responsibilities to its own people and the people of the region, meet its obligations arising from international law, and take the necessary steps to establish peace.


In this process, creating conditions that will allow Abdullah Öcalan’s active participation in the peace process is of great importance. This not only ensures the protection of his fundamental rights, including the right to communicate with the
outside world and the ‘right to hope’ in response to over 25 years of imprisonment but also provides a significant opportunity for the implementation of democratization and the principles of the rule of law.


According to the United Nations Right to Peace Declaration, the establishment of peace requires ensuring equality, justice, and the supremacy of law; it necessitates building a society free from fear and deprivation, and free from discrimination.
Accordingly, it is essential for Turkey to quickly review its penal laws, anti-terrorism laws, and similar regulations in the light of the decisions and recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights and international legal mechanisms, and to
implement the necessary reforms. Ensuring judicial independence must be one of the cornerstones of this process.
Additionally, for the achievement of societal peace, Turkish authorities need to plan and implement necessary regulations concerning political prisoners in jails.


Furthermore, cultural and social adjustments should be made in line with the necessities of a pluralistic society, and an environment where everyone has equal rights should be created.
In essence, the state of Turkey and the Turkish people are faced with a historic peace opportunity after a conflict process that has lasted 50 years. Authorities are obligated to ensure the cessation of arms and to establish an environment where the people of Turkey can enjoy peace and tranquillity with equal rights and freedoms.


We, the undersigned legal organizations, call on Turkey and all actors of peace to seize this historic opportunity and take the steps required by the peace process. Every step taken towards peace and the strengthening of human rights, justice, and democracy not only holds great importance for the future of Turkey but for the entire region as well.
The construction of peace is our common responsibility. In this context, we call on all international public opinion to support the peace call and take an active role in fulfilling the requirements of this call.

Turkey must do its part to achieve peace following Abdullah Öcalan’s call!

Asociación Americana de Juristas
Association for Democracy and International Law (Maf-Dad)
Democratic Jurists, Italy (Giuristi Democratici)
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
European Democratic Lawyers (AED)
Giza Eskubideen Behatokia (Observatory of Human Rights) Basque Country
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
Legal Centre Lesvos
Legal Team Italia
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), Philippines
Socialist Lawyers Association of Ireland
Swiss Democratic Lawyers
The Defence Commission of the Barcelona Bar
The National Association of Democratic Lawyers (South Africa)

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The Erosion of Legal Independence and Professional Rights in BELARUS

The DAY OF THE ENDANGERED LAWYER is commemorated annually on the 24th of January. On this date, January 24,1977, four trade union lawyers and the employee of a law firm were murdered in their office in the Atocha street of the Spanish capital Madrid, when a group of men broke into their office. These lawyers were assassinated for exercising their profession and with the aim of instilling fear and destabilizing Spain’s democratic system after decades of Franco’s unlawful dictatorship.
Since 2010, and in remembrance of the Atocha Massacre, January 24 has been chosen to highlight the difficulties and dangers of lawyers in the exercise of their profession. Every year the focus is on one particular country, where lawyers are being harassed, silenced, pressured, threatened, persecuted and even tortured or murdered.
In past years, the Day has focused on countries like China, Iran, Egypt or Turkey and the number of organisations and bar associations joining the Coalition of the Day of the Endangered Lawyer has grown steadily, acquiring global importance.

Protecting lawyers from persecution and constraints in the exercise of their work is of vital importance for a functioning democracy.
As such, the UN has set forth a set of principles, to promote and ensure the proper role of lawyers, should be respected and taken into account by Governments within the framework of their national legislation.
Under these basic principles, “Governments shall ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference.” In addition, lawyers, like other citizens, are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights, and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful actions or their membership in a lawful organization.

These principles, known as the Havana Principles furthermore protect the independence of professional associations of lawyers and the appropriate procedures for disciplinary proceedings to ensure lawyers can work independently and without fear of repression in account of their work.

The Erosion of Legal Independence and Professional Rights in BELARUS
This year, the Day of the Endangered Lawyer is dedicated to the plight of lawyers und human rights defenders in Belarus. The findings of the report, on which our claims are based, indicate a troubling deterioration of the situation of lawyers in Belarus since 2020. In fact, there seems to be persistent trend in Belarus where legal practitioners face increasing criminal sanctions, arbitrary detentions, and systemic interference in their professional duties.
The legal framework and practices currently observed in Belarus deeply infringe on lawyers’ rights by enforcing excessive restrictions on freedom of expression, arbitrarily interpreting and applying these restrictions, and penalising participation in lawful international activities. There is a critical need for reform and strict adherence to legal principles that protect the independence and professional activities of lawyers to restore fairness and justice within the legal system in Belarus.
Furthermore, the combination of state bodies, bar associations, and state media has created an atmosphere of intimidation that severely impacts the legal profession’s integrity. Such an atmosphere not only targets individual lawyers but also seeks to inhibit the entire legal community from effectively performing their duties, thus directly infringing on the rights of clients and compromising the integrity of legal defense, especially in politically sensitive cases.
The Belarusian state’s actions contravene both national laws and international standards. These actions include misusing ethical standards to sanction lawyers for their professional and public expressions, thereby stifling dissent and curbing lawful advocacy. This systemic assault is aimed at silencing the legal community and inhibiting its ability to uphold democratic principles and human rights effectively.


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International Day of the Endangered Lawyer – 15th Edition

22 January 2025, 14.00 CET
(Via Teams)

Opening Remarks:
Symone Gaasbeek – The Foundation of Day of the Endangered Lawyer

Keynote Speakers:
Margaret Satterthwaite – United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Nils Muižnieks – United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus (Invited)
Iryna Kozikava, Lawyer – Executive Director PEN Belarus

Presentation of the Coalition’s Report:
Anna Masiota –  Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA-IROL)
Closing Remarks:
Federico Cappelletti – European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA)

Moderation:
Juan Prosper – European Democratic Lawyers (AED) and European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)

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Day of the Endangered Lawyer, 15th Edition: BELARUS

Since 2010, the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer has been observed annually on 24 January, organised first by the AED-EDL and then by the Coalition for the Endangered Lawyer, a network of national and international legal organisations and bar associations. The day aims to draw attention to the plight faced by lawyers in the exercise of their profession in a particular country each year, and encourage action by government officials, international institutions, civil society, the media and the public. 

This year, 2025, the Day of the Endangered Lawyer spotlights the persecution of lawyers in Belarus, who face systematic harassment and interferences with their professional activities. Following the Presidential election and mass protests in 2020, a crackdown by the government has resulted in the targeting of lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders, and dissidents. The evidence in this report indicates a persistent and troubling trend in Belarus where legal practitioners face increasing criminal sanctions, arbitrary detentions, and systemic interference in their professional duties.

On the 22nd of January a press conference will take place to explain the difficult situation of lawyers in Belarus.

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Urgent request for intervention in favour of renowned Iranian human rights defender Reza Khandan

Download the request

Ms. Mai Sato
UN Special Rapporteur on the Islamic Republic of Iran

Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite
UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers

Ms. Mary Lawlor
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders

Mr. Alain Berset
Secretary General of the Council of Europe

Mr. Michael O’Flaherty
Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe

Ms. Roberta Metsola
President of the European Parliament

Mr. António Costa
President of the European Council

Ms. Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission

Ms. Kaja Kallas
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
of the European Commission

Mr. Javier Zarzalejos
President LIBE Committee of the European Parliament

EEAS Iran Division

Venice, 18/12/2024

Re: Urgent request for intervention in favour of renowned Iranian human rights defender Reza Khandan


Dear All,
The undersigned organizations urge you to take urgent, concrete action in the case of Reza Khandan, renowned
Iranian human rights activist and husband of the iconic human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Khandan, Sotoudeh, and their family have been the objects of a sustained, protracted campaign of abuse at the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran (“IR”).
Khandan was once again arrested last Friday, 13 December 2024, after IR security forces raided his home. Khandan was arrested for the first time in September 2018, and was charged with “spreading propaganda against the system” and “colluding to commit crimes against national security,” after posting several online updates about his wife’s June 2018 arrest and protesting against the IR’s mandatory hijab law by producing and distributing pins that read: ‘I stand against the compulsory hijab’. Khandan was released on bail in December 20185, but in January 2019 was sentenced to six years in prison with another activist, Farhad Meysami.
On 13 February 2023, Khandan was summoned to appear within 30 days in prison for the execution of this sentence, just a few short weeks after his wife Nasrin Sotoudeh appeared on CNN to call for the release of Meysami. At the time of Sotoudeh’s TV appearance, Meysami’s life was in grave danger after a lengthy hunger strike. Meysami was freed from the infamous, overcrowded Evin Prison soon thereafter, on 10 February 2023. The summons issued to Khandan was not enforced at the time after 22 organisations of jurists from around the world, including many of the signatories here, called for your intervention. Significantly, Khandan’s most recent arrest occurred on the very same day that the IR’s even more onerous new law on “Protecting the Family through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab” was scheduled to come into force.
Khandan’s wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was herself one of many women who denounced the new law earlier this month, emphasizing that the law increases the punishment for women and girls aged 12 and older who do not wear hijab. In addition, it applies to online activities, resulting in large fines and lengthy prison sentences (up to 15 years), and even possible death sentences12. UN experts have demanded that the new law be repealed.
Reza Khandan and his family have been, and continue to be, victims of extreme judicial persecution. IR authorities must immediately and unconditionally rescind the summons and suspend the execution of the sentence against Khandan, drop all the charges against him and his wife Nasrin Sotoudeh, and cease the longstanding campaign of persecution of them and their family for their efforts to protect, inter alia, women from discrimination and humiliation to which they are subject in contravention of the principle of civilisation enshrined in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by Iran in 1948, according to which “all human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights”, where dignity comes even before rights.
Likewise, recognizing the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, expression, assembly and association, as well as the right to a fair trial, all of which are foundations of civilised existence, the international community, including the EU (given its ongoing dialogue with Iran), must condemn all forms of discrimination, persecution, and violence on the part of the IR – including the use of barbaric, often gratuitous and lethal force against peaceful protesters, brutal beatings, torture, and sexual violence, baseless arrests, meritless prosecutions, and sham trials and convictions, with draconian sentencing to flogging and long years of imprisonment in the most primitive, crowded
conditions – and, of course, executions.

We – the undersigned Colleagues, Magistrates, NGOs and civil society – stand united and resolute in denouncing the IR’s violations of fundamental rights and freedoms, and in supporting Iran’s courageous human rights defenders. We ask you, once again, for a firm, definitive, and incisive commitment to end the judicial harassment of Reza Khandan and Nasrin Sotoudeh, recalling the tenets of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, and States’ responsibilities enshrined therein.


If we do not defend human rights defenders, who will defend human rights?

We thank you for your attention and we rely on your prompt and effective intervention.
Best regards,

Avocats Européens Democrats / European Democratic Lawyers
Ordre des avocats francophones et germanophone de Belgique / Belgium
Barreau de Bordeaux – Bordeaux Bar Association / France
Barreau Pénal International – International Criminal Bar (BP
Consiglio Nazionale Forense – Italian National Bar Council / Italy
Defense Commission of the Barcelona Bar Association / Spain
Défense Sans Frontière – Avocats Solidaires / France
Deutscher Anwaltverein – German Bar Association / Germany
European Criminal Bar Association
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights
Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer
International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
Institut des Droits de l’Homme du Barreau de Bordeaux / France
Institut des Droits de l’Homme, Barreau de Bruxelles / Belgium
Institut des Droits de l’Homme du Barraeau de Paris / France
Institut des Droits de l’Homme des Avocats Européens (IDHAE)
Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés
New York City Bar Association / United States of America
Observatoire International des Avocats en Danger / International Observatory for Lawyers (OIAD)
Progressive Lawyers’ Association / Turkey
Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin / Germany
Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA-IROL)
Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane – Union of the Italian Criminal Chambers / Italy