Turkey: Selçuk Kozağaçlı and other ÇHD lawyers on trial once again

Former chair of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) and lawyer Selçuk Kozağaçlı, and five other lawyers from ÇHD (Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan, Özgür Yılmaz, Güçlü Sevimli and Gülvin Aydın Savran), are on trial for alleged "Propaganda for an Illegal Organisation" under Article 7/2 of the Anti-Terror Law (Law No. 3713). The Observatory has been informed that the new trial, which has been scheduled for 27 May 2025, is based on previous accusations of “propaganda” for which convictions had been reversed by higher courts. It is expected that, on Tuesday, the Court will reassess the validity of the charges and then establish a new judgment based on the merits and on the statute of limitations.

The Observatory recalls that the judicial harassment against members of the ÇHD has been ongoing for over a decade. In January 2013, 22 lawyers, including Selçuk Kozağaçlı, were charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organisation” and “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation”. Although they were released in March 2014, the case remained open.

While the trial was ongoing, a second wave of arrests in 2017 led to a second case, targeting many of the same lawyers. The cases were later merged, and on 11 November 2021, the Court convicted all defendants of “membership in an armed terrorist organisation”. Several lawyers, including Kozağaçlı, were also convicted of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation”, based on activities such as making press statements after the deaths of their clients in police custody or attending their funerals. They were convicted and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 18 years.

Selçuk Kozağaçlı received a sentence of 11 years and 3 months. More recently, he was granted conditional release on 17 April 2025 after nearly 8 years in arbitrary detention and was re-arrested the following day, on 18 April, after the prison’s Administrative and Observation Board abruptly revoked its own decision. This has raised serious concerns regarding its legal basis and procedural fairness, reflecting broader issues with the parole system in Turkey; namely, its vague criteria, inconsistent application, and frequent use as a tool to extend detention in an arbitrary manner.

These ongoing judicial processes evidence the continuity of Turkish authorities’ abusive use of law, especially of counter terrorism law, as a means to keep human rights defenders in long-term detention. This practice was denounced by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, in her 18 January 2025 declaration in which she calls for Turkish authorities to respect international human rights law and to uphold due process to allow human rights defenders a fair trial in all circumstances.

We call upon the Turkish authorities for:

• The immediate cessation of all civil and criminal proceedings as well as the dropping of all charges against the Progressive Lawyers Association’s leadership and members; and
• The respect of due proceedings and the end of the arbitrary implementation of conditional release for Selçuk Kozağaçlı.

We call on the international community to:

• Publicly condemn the Turkish authorities’ misuse of the justice system to suppress independent legal professionals and institutions and undermine public confidence in the rule of law;
• Insist on the immediate and unconditional release of Selçuk Kozağaçlı, Barkın Timtik, Oya Aslan, Özgür Yılmaz, and all other lawyers detained solely for carrying out their professional duties; and
• Urge international mechanisms, including the Council of Europe, United Nations, and European Union bodies, to take robust and effective actions to uphold the independence of the legal profession, human rights and the rule of law in Turkey.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.