Istanbul Bar Association chief opens new legal year by mourning Şükran Soner: “We were shaken and deeply saddened”

İbrahim Kaboğlu began his speech at the opening of Turkey’s new legal year with a tribute to Şükran Soner, a Cumhuriyet writer who died that day. “I begin my remarks with the pain of losing our friend, a press worker and Cumhuriyet writer Şükran Soner. We were shaken and deeply saddened,” he said, addressing the gathering with expressions of respect and affection.

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I begin my remarks with the pain of losing our friend, a press worker and Cumhuriyet writer Şükran Soner. We were shaken and deeply saddened. I remember Şükran Soner here before you with respect and affection.

The Istanbul Bar Association president then turned to what he described as the record of the 2025-2026 legal year. The bar association said it had closely monitored court hearings and prisons, while its Sept. 1 Justice Declaration examined detention practices, the right to a fair trial, freedom of defense, prisoners’ rights and impunity policies.

Kaboğlu invoked Article 15 of Turkey’s Constitution, which protects a core set of rights even during war, mobilization or a state of emergency. “Rights that could not be violated even if the Republic of Türkiye were at war are being systematically violated today in peacetime,” he said. He referred to the presumption of innocence, protection from prosecution for one’s opinions and the inviolability of a person’s material and moral existence.

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Rights that could not be violated even if the Republic of Türkiye were at war are being systematically violated today in peacetime.

He criticized a chain of practices ranging from dawn raids and the use of handcuffs behind the back to detention, imprisonment and renewed detention after release. Kaboğlu said people were being deprived of their freedom first, with evidence sought afterward, while indictments could take months or more than a year to prepare. He said deprivation of liberty, which should be an exceptional measure, had become “execution without trial.”

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Deprivation of liberty has been turned into execution without trial.

Kaboğlu also cited Article 6, which says no person or body may exercise state power unless it derives its authority from the Constitution. “These are usurpations of sovereignty,” he said. He added that the bar association had monitored hearings in Silivri particularly closely over the previous six months. For a fair trial, he proposed a three-part test, “place, time and money,” arguing that disputes should be resolved as nearby, quickly and inexpensively as possible.

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These are usurpations of sovereignty.