Lawyers reacted to this decision. The Lawyers for Democracy (Demokrasi İçin Hukukçular) made a statement entitled “The legal profession as a whole is in danger.”78 President of the TBB Metin Feyzioğlu also protested the decision with a number of Tweets.79 Lawyer Kavili was released a day later. The lawsuit against him is ongoing. 78 Ibid. 79 See: (05.10.2018; Metin Feyzioğlu): https://twitter.com/metinfeyzioglu/status/1048293158382194689 ; (05.10.2018; Metin Feyzioğlu): https://twitter.com/metinfeyzioglu/status/1048312529842257920 THE SECOND LAWSUIT AGAINST ÇHD-HHB The repressions against lawyers increased exponentially during the State of Emergency. After the action in 2013 (see page 9), on September 12, 2017, another operation was carried out against The Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD) and Peoples’ Law Bureau (HHB). Seventeen lawyers and two trainee lawyers were taken into custody after their homes and offices were raided.80 After 8 days in custody, 15 lawyers were arrested.81 At a rally on November 3, 2017, President Erdoğan stated that, “Unfortunately, the extreme left provokes families by taking advantage of them. They are playing them false. We know very well who they are. Our martyrs’ families have to throw a wrench into their games.”82 Allegedly, with these words, President Erdoğan was targeting the lawyers— including ÇHD Chairman Selçuk Kozağaçlı— of the families of those who lost their lives in the Soma mining disaster.83 80 Lawyers from the Contemporary Lawyers’ Association (Sessizkalma): https://www.sessizkalma.org/en/defender/ Five days after President Erdoğan’s statement, Kozağaçlı was taken into custody. He was arrested on November 13, 2017.84 Approximately one month later, with the arrest of lawyer Yaprak Türkmen, the number of detained lawyers increased to 17. On March 22, 2018, a lawsuit was filed against 20 lawyers, 17 of whom were under arrest. In the indictment, the lawyers were accused of being “members of an illegal organisation” based on the statement of one single witness and the prosecution was requesting long prison sentences.85 The lawyers were brought before the judge between September 10 and 14, 2018— a year after their initial arrest. In the first hearing, held in the Bakırköy Courthouse, 17 detained lawyers were beaten by the gendarmerie in front of the panel of judges, their clothes were torn and they were handcuffed inside the courtroom.86 On the fifth day, the panel of judges ruled that the trial would be moved to the courtroom adjacent to the Silivri Prison. More than 300 lawyers attended the hearings that lasted five days. On the last day, the panel of judges ordered the release of all detained defendants.87 The decision was announced around 10:00 PM on September 14, 2018. The 9 lawyers held in the Silivri Prison were released at 6:30 AM the next day; the 8 lawyers held in the Bakırköy Prison at 4:30 AM. On September 15, 2018, upon the objection of the prosecutor against the decision to release the defendants, the panel of judges convened on Saturday evening, and unanimously decided to re-arrest 12 of the lawyers they had unanimously decided to release the day before.88 which killed 301 mineworkers, thus making it the worst mine disaster in the history of Turkey. 84 Lawyers from Contemporary Lawyers’ Association (Sessizkalma): https://www.sessizkalma.org/en/defender/ contemporary-lawyers-association/ 85 Ibid. contemporary-lawyers-association/ 86 ÇHD duruşmasında arbede: Avukatlar tekmelendi (10.09.2018; Cumhuriyet): https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/ 81 Ibid. chd-durusmasinda-arbede-avukatlar-tekmelendi-1078879 82 Erdoğan’dan Soma’da şehit olan madencilerin ailelerine müjde (03.11.2017; Sabah): https://www.sabah.com.tr/ 87 Lawyers from Contemporary Lawyers’ Association (Sessizkalma): https://www.sessizkalma.org/en/defender/ ekonomi/2017/11/03/erdogandan-somada-sehit-olan-madencilerin-ailelerine-mujde contemporary-lawyers-association/ 83 On May 13, 2014, an explosion occurred in the Eynez coal mine in the Turkish town of Soma, causing an underground fire 88 Ibid. 40 T H E S E C O N D L AW S U I T A G A I N S T Ç H D - H H B A DEFENSELESS DEFENSE 41