Outspoken lawyer barred from taking up Gulen-linked cases


Date posted: March 7, 2018

Outspoken lawyer Kemal Ucar has been restrained from taking up defending people suspected of ties to the Gulen movement.

On Thursday, the Istanbul-based lawyer, known for his critical statements concerning July 15, 2016 coup attempt cases, was detained due to what his colleagues say “occupational activities.”

Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office banned Ucar from taking up cases concerning people with ties to the movement, according to a notice issued by the prosecutor’s office on Monday.

Ucar was also removed from the existing cases in which he defends alleged Gulenists.

Five hundred seventy-two lawyers in Turkey have been arrested, 80 of whom have been convicted and sentenced to between four and 14 years in prison since July 2016, a recent report by the Arrested Lawyers Initiative has said.

Ucar, himself, feared arrest before the he was taken into police custody earlier this week.

“A prosecutor told me: ‘Kemal, you question military issues too much. You will be blacklisted as a lawyer for Fetö [a derogatory term for the Gülen movement].’ I said that ‘I am not [their lawyer]. Why would they arrest me?’ He said, ‘I’m not saying you’re a member of Fetö, but you shouldn’t be surprised if they arrest you.’ I said: ‘How can they do that?’ He took out his cell phone and said: ‘They can say that you use ByLock [a mobile phone application]. But I said that I don’t use ByLock. He said: ‘It’s not important. You will stay in prison six months, one year, and you will learn your lesson until you prove it’,” he earlier told a TV program.

Turkish authorities believe ByLock is a communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016, a claim the movement denies.

Ucar also said during another TV program that one of his clients, an air force pilot, was accused in a fake voice recording of bombing the Turkish Parliament even though he was not flying a jet at the time of the recording.

 

Source: Turkey Purge , March 7, 2018


Related News

Coup in Turkey, Turkish Schools in Nigeria, and Implications for Nigeria’s National Security

President Erdogan has also asked the Government of Nigeria to close down all Turkish schools in Nigeria allegedly because Fetullah Gulen was the main architect of the failed coup in Turkey. Is this request in Nigeria’s national interest? In which way is the Turkish failed coup likely to impact on Nigeria’s national security? How important is Nigeria-Turkish relations in the country’s overall global relations?

Jurist’s report highlighting illegality of Karaca’s arrest submitted to top court

Lawyers representing journalist Hidayet Karaca, who remains in prison despite a ruling for his release, have submitted a report drafted by a prominent jurist to the Constitutional Court in which the unlawfulness of Karaca’s arrest was highlighted.

Had the Kurds believed in Said-i Kurdi, their children wouldn’t have died

Naim from Diyarbakir sent me a message. He says: “The Kurds would listen to you if you said something to them, because you’re coming from a leftist tradition. Evil powers like PKK and KCK can’t stand the approval for Gulen Movement’s service for Kurds.”

Slain prosecutor’s daughter: My father was not with Gülen movement

The daughter of former Bursa public prosecutor Seyfettin Yiğit, who allegedly committed suicide in a prison bathroom on Friday morning after he was put behind bars over Gülen movement ties, said on Saturday that her father was not affiliated with the Gülen movement but was with the Süleymancı movement, an Islamic movement in Turkey founded by Turkish Islamic scholar Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan in the early 20th century.

Gülen’s lawyer, Court of Appeals deny claims of AK Party official

“I think the ministry of justice went beyond its authority in making a change requiring the judges and prosecutors to inform the administration about investigations,” Akyol further added, urging everyone to keep the rule of law above political conflicts.

Police raids Şifa University hospitals in gov’t-led intimidation operation, report says

The police have conducted raids on nine hospitals of şifa University for the purpose of shutting down the hospitals on the orders of the İzmir Public Prosecutor’s Office in a government-led intimidation operation, the news portal haberturk.com reported on Friday.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Kimse yok mu reaffirms commitment to assist Somalia

Turkey: Babies behind bars

Operation against whom?

Lawyer files criminal complaint against Gülen

Hizmet movement demonized by Erdogan regime but loved abroad

Beninese president: African relations imperative for Turkish power

Former minister inquires about secret plot against Gülen movement

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News