Wednesday, February 8, 2012

"Kill All the Lawyers:" Stifling Dissent in Turkey

"Erdogan’s increasingly surreal rhetoric concerning jailed journalists is probably due to the growing negative reporting on freedom of the press in Turkey. What has received far less attention, however, is the equally worrisome current practice of imprisoning attorneys in Turkey who attempt to defend journalists and others caught in the massive wave of arrests currently underway in Turkey," argues William Jones.

He argues, "arresting lawyers because of their clients’ misdeeds is a violation of Principle 18 of the UN Basic Principles on the role of lawyers:
“Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions.”
Read the rest of the article here.