Rights organizations condemned legal proceedings against the Istanbul Bar Association’s (ISBA) executive board on Monday, warning that they are incompatible with Türkiye’s international human rights obligations and constitute a direct assault on the independence of the legal profession.

The legal proceedings were brought after the Istanbul Bar Association issued a statement in response to the killing of two Kurdish journalists, Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, from a drone strike in northern Syria allegedly carried out by Turkey. The board condemned the targeting of the journalists in conflict zones and called the action a violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. However, authorities found the statement to be contrary to Article 77/5 of Turkey’s Attorneysh

See Full Page