The indictment against the Istanbul Bar Association and its executives who made propaganda for a terrorist organization has been completed.

An investigation has been launched ex officio into the Istanbul Bar Association and its management on the grounds that "fugitive PKK member suspects Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who were killed in northern Syria, were praised ." In a statement made by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on December 21, an indictment was prepared against Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and 10 people in the management, who portrayed terrorists as journalists, demanding their termination on charges of "making propaganda for a terrorist organization" and "publicly spreading misleading information to the public."

THE INDICTMENT HAS BEEN COMPLETED

An indictment was prepared by the Bakırköy Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the Bar Association President and management. It was noted in the indictment that permission for an investigation was requested from the Ministry of Justice General Directorate of Criminal Affairs regarding the suspects, and that permission was granted for the investigation regarding Kaboğlu and the board members.

In the indictment, it was determined that they presented the terrorists as journalists, and in the statement made by the suspects, it was evaluated that "they described the terrorist organization members Daştan and Bilgin as journalists, they evaluated the activity against the said terrorist organization members who were neutralized by the security forces within the scope of the fight against terrorism as a war crime, and the press release that is the subject of the investigation was aimed at consciously legitimizing and spreading the separatist activity, which is the ultimate goal of the organization."

TERRORIST PROPAGANDA THROUGH PRESS AND PUBLICATION...

The indictment, which stated that referring to the members of the terrorist organization who were killed as "journalists targeted in the conflict zone" was of a nature that encouraged membership in the organization, included statements regarding "In this respect, the terrorist organization's propaganda was made by legitimizing methods that included force, violence or threats or by encouraging the use of these methods, and in this way, the suspects committed the crime of 'making propaganda for a terrorist organization through press and publication'" .

The indictment evaluated the post made by the bar association on its official social media account as follows: "In relation to the fight against terrorism, which concerns the general public and is closely followed by the public, the state institutions and organs attempted to create a perception by misleading the public with false information regarding the internal and external security of the country and public order, and to negatively affect the trust in the state institutions and organs, that war crimes were committed against the members of the terrorist organization named Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who are members of the terrorist organization but are presented as journalists."

3 TO 12 YEARS PRISON SENTENCE

The indictment, which noted that the suspects were motivated by creating anxiety, fear or panic among the public, stated that the publicity element of the crime was realized in response to the posts made by the suspects on their social media accounts, which were open to everyone and could be seen by many people, and that the suspects committed the crime of "publicly spreading misleading information" , which was attributed to them.

The indictment was sent to the Istanbul High Criminal Court with a request to open a final investigation in accordance with the relevant article of the Attorneyship Law No. 1136.

It was requested that the suspects be sentenced to 3 to 12 years in prison each for "making terrorist organization propaganda through the press" and "publicly spreading misleading information through the press."

The indictment also requested that the suspects be subject to "deprivation of certain rights" as stipulated in Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code.

INVESTIGATION

An ex officio investigation was launched against Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and board members over claims that "fugitive defendants who are members of the terrorist organization PKK were praised" in a statement published on social media.

In the statement made by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was stated that in the post shared on the official social media account of the Istanbul Bar Association on December 21, 2024, fugitive defendants Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, who are members of the terrorist organization PKK, were praised.

The statements of Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu and board members were taken by the prosecutor's office on January 7, and permission was requested from the Ministry of Justice to prosecute Kaboğlu and board members.

In addition, within the scope of the investigation, a lawsuit was filed with the Istanbul Civil Court of First Instance, requesting the termination of the duties of Kaboğlu and board members Rukiye Leyla Süren, Hürrem Sönmez, Ahmet Ergin, Metin İriz, Mehmedali Barış Beşli, Yelda Koçak Urfa, Fırat Epözdemir, Ezgi Şahin Yalvarıcı, Ekrem Bilen Selimoğlu and Bengisu Kadı Çavdar within the scope of the Lawyers Act numbered 1136, and the election of a new bar association president and board members.