Balyoz case gets tenser as lawyers called to testify

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

This photo shows a press meeting held by a group of lawyers led by Istanbul Bar Association head Ümit Kocasakal, who recently protested the court delegation.AA photo

Istanbul’s Silivri district’s chief prosecutor launched an investigation yesterday into 11 managers of the Istanbul Bar Association, including Ümit Kocasakal, the head of the organization, on the charge of “attempting to influence a judicial authority.”

The chief prosecutor’s office sent a summons to Kocasakal and the other managers, calling on them to testify within seven days of receiving the official notice.

Lawyers to testify

The Silivri Chief Prosecutor’s Office also requested permission from the Ministry of Justice to launch another probe against those officials within the Istanbul Bar Association who are in charge of assigning lawyers.

The move came in response to the association’s failure to provide a lawyer for the defendants in the ongoing “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) case, despite the court’s requesting them to so three times, according to reports.

Kocasakal and the other 10 managers had entered the courtroom during a hearing in the Balyoz case on April 6 without the court delegation’s permission, to present their support for the lawyers representing the defendants in the case, who were protesting the trial. Kocasakal issued a statement in the courtroom, calling on the court delegation to put a halt to its alleged “violation of the right to a fair trial, its behavior that contradicts the principle of the equality of arms, and its practices that disgrace the legal profession.”