within the scope of a confidential investigation. After their release, three lawyers were re-arrested upon the prosecutor’s objection to their release. One of the lawyers was released after 15 days in custody, and the other two were released after 6 months.46 The trial of the lawyers and TUAD executives continues before Istanbul 14th Assize Court.47 46 Good news: Ramazan Demir and Ayse Acinikli released (08.09.2016; Lawyers for Lawyers): https://lawyersforlawyers. org/en/turkey-good-news-ramazan-demir-and-ayse-acinikli-released 47 İstanbul 14. Assize Court, File No. 2016/189 E. THE NORMALIZATION OF THE STATE OF EMERGENCY Shortly after the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, a State of Emergency was declared on July 21. That day, Turkey reported to the Secretary-General of the UN48 and the Council of Europe49 that several fundamental rights had been suspended as a result. In the course of the State of Emergency, many laws were amended through emergency decrees. An important share of them have since become permanent. Some of the changes that became permanent introduced restrictions to the right to defence and thus created difficulties with respect to the practice of the legal profession. Moreover, even after the end of the State of Emergency on July 18, 2018, recent practices and new legal regulations indicate that the mind-set of the State of Emergency still prevails. Here is a brief summary of the changes that opened the door to the violations of fundamental principles of criminal justice, such as the right to a fair trial and the principle of equality of arms: of Criminal Procedure (CMK) was amended introducing the rule that “a maximum of three lawyers can be present at hearings in proceedings conducted with respect to crimes committed within the framework of organisation activities.” Considering that indictments alone can comprise hundreds of pages and the overall documents amount to tens of thousands of pages in some cases, this rule actually contains features that both harm the right of defence and hamper the practice of the legal profession; ■ By virtue of the same emergency decree (Decree Law No. 676), a new clause was added to Article 154 of CMK. This clause includes the provision that suspects can be restricted in their right to see a lawyer for 24 hours if taken into custody in a series of crimes listed in the Turkish Criminal Code, crimes within the scope of the Anti-Terror Law, and crimes related to the production and trade of drugs committed within the scope of organisational activities. This provision is striking since it involves a restriction of the right of defence and opens the door to circumvention of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment; ■ Another important change that was introduced via emergency decree is the new exception to the rule stipulated in Article 188/1 of CMK. This article lists the situations that require the mandatory presence of a lawyer. Here, the following exception was added, “If the lawyer leaves the hearing without an excuse, the hearing can be continued without the attendance of a lawyer.” This paved the way for a continuation of trials in the absence of a lawyer. Later, Emergency Decree No. 69651 expanded this exception by adding that hearings can continue in “the absence of lawyers who do not attend hearings without an excuse;” and 1966): https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/cn/2016/cn.580.2016-eng.pdf ■ Emergency Decree Law No. 694 also cleared the way for judgments to be delivered in the absence of lawyers. Article 216/3 of CMK states that “the last word before the judgment is given to the defendant who is present before the court.” The Decree added that “the absence of mandatory counsel at this stage does not prevent the announcement of the verdict.”52 49 Secretary General receives notification from Turkey of its intention to temporarily suspend part of the European 51 Emergency Decree Law No. 696 entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette on December 24, 2017: Convention on Human Rights (21.07.2016; Council of Europe Communications): https://rm.coe.int/168071f08e https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2017/12/20171224-22.htm 50 Emergency Decree Law No. 676 entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette on October 29, 2016: 52 Emergency Decree Law No. 694 entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette on August 25, 2017: https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/10/20161029-5.htm https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2017/08/20170825-13.pdf ■ By virtue of Emergency Decree Law No. 676,50 Article 149/2 of the Code 48 C.N.580.2016.TREATIES-IV.4 (02.08.2016; International Covenant On Civil and Political Rights New York, 16 December 26 A DEFENSELESS DEFENSE T H E N O R M A L I Z AT I O N O F T H E S TAT E O F E M E R G E N C Y 27