In recent years, emergency decrees, issued during the State of Emergency period (following the 2016 coup attempt), have continued to be applied or were eventually enacted into law. A consequence of this is the gradual shrinking of space for defence to the point of its near complete removal, despite it being one of the founding elements of justice. Increasingly, lawyers began to be accused and convicted for being “members of terrorist organisations,” especially in connection to the defendants they defended.15 While this report was being prepared, two arrested lawyers were on hunger strike demanding “a fair trial and the administration of justice in Turkey.” One of them was Ebru Timtik. This lawyer, a member of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (Çağdaş Hukukçular Derneği), who had been in prison since September 12, 2018, died on August 27, 2020, the 238th day of her hunger strike.16 Following this dramatic development, her colleague Aytaç Ünsal was released on his 213th day of hunger strike, which he ended following the decision of the Court of Cassation to halt the execution of his punishment until he got better.17 The Court’s decision was only taken after the shock of the death of Timtik and the strong international condemnations that followed. Eight UN Special Rapporteurs and members of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a press release in Geneva on September 2, 2020, stating that the death of human rights lawyer Ebru Timtik after a long hunger strike was entirely preventable and calling on Turkey to release other HRDs currently imprisoned. In their statement, the group declared that “[n]o one should have to die in pursuit of a fair trial. This is an utter waste of a human life, and we are greatly dismayed at the death of this courageous woman human rights defender, as well as the circumstances that led to her death.”18 15 Examples of such cases covered in this report include the Lawyers of the Human Rights Association (p.8), The Asrın Law Bureau (p. 9), The Progressive Lawyers Association (p. 9 and 18), and The Law Bureau of the Oppressed (p. 17), all examples in which lawyers were accused in relation with their clients. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović made the following statement in the aftermath of the death of Timtik, “Ms. Timtik’s death is a tragic illustration of the human suffering caused by a judicial system in Turkey that has turned into a tool to silence lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists, through systematic disregard for the most basic principles of the rule of law. Lawyers have borne the brunt of these developments in their double capacity as human rights defenders and as a fundamental component of an increasingly hostile judicial system.”19 At the same time, bar associations working for their member’s rights and for the rule of law have also increasingly come under attack. Investigations and several cases have been brought against several bar associations and lawyers unions/groups. While this report was being prepared, presidents of 60 bar associations started to march to Ankara to defend the legal profession in response to the government preparing to change the election system of bar associations. 19 Commissioner reiterates her call to restore and uphold the role of lawyers as human rights defenders in Turkey in the aftermath of the death of lawyer Ebru Timtik (28.08.2020; Council of Europe Portal – Commissioner for Human Rights): https:// www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/commissioner-reiterates-her-call-to-restore-and-uphold-the-role-of-lawyers-ashuman-rights-defenders-in-turkey-in-the-aftermath-of-the-death-of-lawyer OBSTRUCTION OF THE PROFESSION The “International Day of the Endangered Lawyer”20 (January 24), created to call attention to the persecution of lawyers as a result of their defence activities, has been dedicated to lawyers in Turkey twice in recent history (in 2012 and 2019 respectively).21 16 Commemoration of Ebru Timtik (07.09.2020; Lawyers for Lawyers): https://lawyersforlawyers.org/commemoration-of20 January 24 has been chosen as the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer. On this day in 1977, four lawyers ebru-timtik/ and a coworker were murdered in Madrid (known as Massacre of Atocha). For further information see: http:// 17 Aytaç Ünsal released (04.09.2020; Lawyers for Lawyers): https://lawyersforlawyers.org/aytac-unsal-released/ dayoftheendangeredlawyer.eu/backgrounds/ 18 Turkish human rights lawyer dies after hunger strike (02.09.2020; United Nations Human Rights Council): https://www. 21 Endangered Lawyers 2019 – Solidarity with Turkish and Kurdish Lawyers (24.01.2019; Day of the Endangered Lawyer): ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26203&LangID=E http://dayoftheendangeredlawyer.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Basic-Report_Turkey2019.pdf 12 A DEFENSELESS DEFENSE OBSTRUCTION OF THE PROFESSION 13