Ahead of Ali Aydın trial, rights advocates call for every aspect of killing to be exposed

Before the first hearing in the Ali Aydın murder case, human rights advocates made a clear demand at the Izmir Bar Association: the killing must be examined in full, including any relationships behind it.

A joint statement described Aydın as more than a lawyer and institutional leader. It recalled his work as a former co-chair of the Izmir branch of the Human Rights Association, the association’s Aegean regional representative and a member of its central board. He had also worked actively with the Contemporary Lawyers’ Association and belonged to the Lawyers for Freedom Association.

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This murder cannot be reduced to an ordinary criminal incident.

The statement said Aydın stood beside people facing oppression, discrimination, imprisonment and rights violations throughout a career that began in teaching and continued in law. It said he made violations in prisons visible and gave victims a voice in court corridors. His Dersim and Alevi identity, as well as his human rights work, should not be separated from the case, the advocates said. “This murder cannot be reduced to an ordinary criminal incident,” they said.

The statement also criticized an account portraying the suspect as a “madman”, saying such language could replace an evidence-based investigation and associate mental differences with violence. Investigators were urged to examine how and why Aydın was targeted, whom the suspect contacted before and after the killing, and whether anyone helped or directed the attack. The first hearing is scheduled for Sept. 2.

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The duty of criminal proceedings is not to endorse a ready-made narrative, but to reach the material truth.