a statement entitled “War is a public health problem”101 in response to the
Afrin operation launched on January 20, 2018. The doctors who signed the
declaration were immediately taken into custody.102 This was protested on the
44th week of the Justice Watch, where the declaration of the TTB was read
out aloud. For this reason, Aytaç’s house was raided in order to take him into
custody. Aytaç, who was not at home at the time of the raid, later went to the
prosecutor and gave his statement.
The Justice Watch also inspired action in wider society. On June 14, 2017,
CHP MP Enis Berberoğlu was arrested and sentenced to 22 years in prison in
the context of the so-called “MIT truck trials.”103 In response to the arrest
of the CHP MP, CHP Chairman Kılıçdaroğlu started a March for Justice from
Güvenpark, Ankara, on June 15, 2017. The March, supported by various
groups, had up to 20 thousand participants, and ended with a rally held
in Maltepe, Istanbul, on July 9, 2017, where 500,000 to 1 million people
gathered.104 CHP Group Deputy Chairperson Özgür Özel attended the 52nd
week of the Justice Watch and in his speech he stated, “One of the inspirations
of the March for Justice is Ghandi’s ‘Salt March.’ One of
the sources of inspiration for the name of the March was
the Justice Watch. Here, our act of resistance fills our
hearts with a spirit of resistance and solidarity.”105
THE MARCH OF JANUARY 24
In addition to long-term initiatives such as the Justice Watch, lawyers also
took to the streets many times demanding justice and democracy. In 2019, on
the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, the Istanbul Bar Association
organised a march from Galatasaray Square to the Bar Association’s building
in the Tünel area. The main slogan of the March was “If Lawyers Lose
Their Voice, Citizens Lose Their Breath.”106 Presidents of other cities’ bar
associations also came in support of the March.
Addressing the lawyers at the end of the March
from the balcony of the Istanbul Bar Association
building, the President of the Association, Mehmet
Durakoğlu, made the following statement, “No other
106 ‘If Lawyers Lose Their Voice, Citizens Lose Their Breath’ (25.01.2019; Bianet):
https://m.bianet.org/bianet/human-rights/204821-if-lawyers-lose-their-voicecitizens-lose-their-breath
Lawyers in front of the
İstanbul Bar Association on
The Day of The Endangered
Lawyer, January 24. (Capshot
from ‘’Shrinking Civic Space
2: Right to Defence’’ video, by
Fatih Pınar)
101 War is a public health problem! (24.01.2018; Turkish Medical Association):
https://www.ttb.org.tr/haber_goster_eng.php?Guid=28de85da-00e5-11e8-a05f429c499923e4
102 Şeyhmus Gökalp (Sessizkalma): https://www.sessizkalma.org/en/defender/
seyhmus-gokalp-2/
103 Berberoğlu was accused of revealing information on several lorries allegedly
belonging to the Turkish National Intelligence Service, which were transporting
weapons to Syria [CHP MP Berberoğlu Arrested in MIT Trucks Case, Sentenced to 25
Years in Prison (14.06.2017; Bianet): https://m.bianet.org/bianet/politics/187432-chpmp-berberoglu-arrested-in-mit-trucks-case-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison]
104 The distance is approximately 400 km.
105 Adalet Nöbeti 1.yılında: Gazeteciler tutuklu oldukça hepimiz tutukluyuz
(29.03.2018; Cumhuriyet) https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/adalet-nobeti-1yilindagazeteciler-tutuklu-oldukca-hepimiz-tutukluyuz-950525
46
A DEFENSELESS DEFENSE
FOREWORD
47