Together with partner organisations, we express our deep concern over the police operation conducted on the morning of 10 December 2026 against the People’s Law Office and the arrest of lawyer Naim Eminoğlu, a board member of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association – (ÇHD) Istanbul Branch and an active member of the association’s International Relations Commission.
According to the information verbally conveyed to his lawyers by the police, Naim has been detained on allegations of “connection to the Gülen organization”— an accusation that is unfounded, inconsistent, and incompatible with his long-standing record of work for people’s rights and freedoms. A confidentiality order and a lawyer-access restriction have been imposed on the file, preventing even his legal representatives from meeting him until the following day. Naim has been a dedicated defender of rights for many years. Following the devastating February 6, 2023 earthquakes, he played a leading role in supporting survivors in their struggle for justice; his own family was also affected by the disaster. We are concerned that his arrest may be linked to his legitimate and lawful professional activities defending the rights of those affected by the earthquakes.
We call on the authorities to:
- Immediately release lawyer Naim Eminoğlu,
- Lift the arbitrary secrecy and lawyer-access restrictions,
- Ensure that lawyers are able to perform their professional duties free
from harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary prosecution.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and stand in solidarity with all
lawyers prosecuted for their professional and human rights work.
Signatories
Avocats européens démocrates – European Democratic Lawyers
Centro di ricerca ed elaborazione per la democrazia (CRED / Italy)
Defense Commission of the Barcelona Bar Association (Catalonia)
Defense Sans Frontière – Avocats Solidaires (DSF AS / France)
Democratic Lawyers Association of Bangladesh
Democratic Jurists Switzerland
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
Foundation of the Day of the Endangered Lawyer
Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (UK)
Indian Association of Lawyers
Institut des Droits de l’Homme du Barreau de Montpellier
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL)
International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk (OIAD)
Law Society of England and Wales
Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L / Netherlands)
Legal Centre Lesvos, (Greece)
National Association of Democratic Lawyers (South Africa)
New York City Bar Association
Ordine degli Avvocati di Bologna / Italia
20.Ordine degli Avvocati di Torino / Italia
21.Osservatorio Avvocati Minacciati (UCPI)
Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein (RAV e.V. / Germany)
Socialist Lawyers Association of Irelan
Syndicat des Avocats pour la Démocratie (S.A.D / Belgium)
Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen (VDJ / Germany)
Read the PDF version of this statement here
