L'avocat Erdal Dogan qui défend des minorités arméniennes en Turquie est gravement menacé Le barreau d'Istanbul lance un appel pour sa protection.

1. We Face an Extremely Serious Threat in the Incident of Erdal Doğan
Press Statement by İstanbul Bar Association
15 January 2019
President of İstanbul Bar Association Attorney Mehmet Durakoğlu, noted that in
addition to the complaint letter Erdal Doğan submitted to the Office of Chief Public
Prosecutor of İstanbul, for the threat he faces from dark powers due to his current
activities as an attorney, Doğan's attorneys as well as İstanbul Bar Association also
submitted petitions to the Office of Chief Public Prosecutor, for an "effective
investigation" of the subject matter.
President of İstanbul Bar Association Attorney Mehmet Durakoğlu delivered a press
statement on Tuesday January 15, 2019 at 13:30 hours in front of Court of Justice of
İstanbul along with the Members of the Executive Committee as well as attorneys.
Noting that Erdal Doğanand his family were facing a serious threat, Mehmet Durakoğlu
stated that they considered this threat against all attorneys and said; "As attorneys, as
bar Association we would like to note that we stand by our colleagues and will be in
professional solidarity in defence against such threats."
Press statement delivered by President of İstanbul Bar Association, Attorney
Mehmet Durakoğlu is as follows:
“Distinguished Members of Press,
Member of Bar AssociationAttorney Erdal Doğanis a colleague whom we know closely
and who stands by the victims in the cases stemming from violations of human rights
in our country. Court cases on Hrant Dink and Malatya Zirve Publishing House are just
two examples.

2. We are aware of the fact that Attorney Erdal Doğan faces death threats due to his
involvement in these court cases, and has been living in the shade of such threats. A
witness heard at the Zirve Publishing House case, stated in his testimony at the
Prosecutor's Office that one of the suspects told that he would kill Attorney Doğan, and
during the hearing of the same court case one of the suspects explicitly threatened him
by death. Under these circumstances our colleague is being relatively protected as
part of a system called "protection upon call" status.
However a while ago two people who arrived at Terkos Business Centre where our
colleague's office is located in, showed his picture and asked questions about Attorney
Erdal Doğan, such as "Does he work alone, does he have a secretary, when does he
arrive?" These dialogues are based on surveillance camera records as well as the
statements of the attendants of the business centre.
In the same period, a Twitter account opened in 2012 and from which a message
threatening only attorney Erdal Doğan had been sent, was updated and this time his
child, mother and sister were threatened with even harsher words.
It is also quite meaningful that recently some people, who had tried to establish a
relationship through proxy ship for a civil case and had been rejected by attorney Erdal
Doğan upon suspicions, re-engaged in attempts and tried to sustain contact as if such
a relationship had been established.
As Istanbul Bar Association and attorneys, we have always been aware of, and
observed that, dark forces in this country are engaged in certain plans in specific areas
that touch particularly the nerves of the society. Based on the knowhow of people who
spent their professional life in a series of cases born out of such relations, we can say
that we are facing a highly serious threat.
The revelations in cases followed by attorney Erdal Doğan that increasingly reveal
issues towards a brighter direction may have prompted the dark power groups to
engage in new plans. For that reason, as attorneys and the Bar Association, we have
submitted separate petitions for the "effective" conduct of an investigation that had
been launched earlier upon the petition of Attorney Erdal Doğan.
However, I have the pleasure to note that the Chief Public Prosecutor of Istanbul also
shares our afore-mentioned sensitivity. In my discussions with the Chief Public
Prosecutor, I was informed that he also takes up this incident with due diligence and a

3. Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor has been assigned for this purpose. I would like to
hereby express my appreciation to the Chief Public Prosecutor.
In the meantime, we have come to a phase where partiuclarly police protection has
gained further importance. Our common goal is to protect his right to life and our efforts
in this regard will continue.
As attorneys and the Bar Association, we would like it to be known that we stand by
our colleague, intimidation of attorneys will not affect his work, as the defence we will
show the necessary care to engage in professional solidarity in the face of such
attacks".