Following months of intense advocacy and international pressure, the President and 10 executive board members of the Instabul Bar Association were acquitted on January 8, 2026.
The ECBA, standing alongside 37 human rights and lawyers’ organizations, had condemned in a formal joint statement the "terrorist propaganda" charges as a clear misuse of criminal law aimed at silencing the Bar’s human rights monitoring.
This ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that bar associations must be free to speak on matters of justice and human rights without fear of judicial harassment.
The ECBA remains committed to defending the independence of our colleagues across Europe and beyond.
Read the joint statement here.
