In Turkey on 16 July, the trial against 46 lawyers, three employees of law firms and a journalist who are suspected of having ties with the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) started. The Turkish authorities regard the KCK as the local branch of the banned Kurdish labour party PKK. The majority of the suspected lawyers is (or was) involved in the defence of Abdullah Öcalan. According to the office of the prosecutor, the suspects have communicated instructions from Öcalan to his supporters. The lawyers are accused of “working for, or belonging to, a terrorist organisation.” It seems that those accusations are merely based on legitimate professional activities of the lawyers involved.

L4L, an independent and non-political dutch foundation which seeks to promote the proper functioning of the rule of law by pursuing freedom and independent of the legal profession worldwide was, together with many other international organisations and many Bar Associations, were present to observe the first hearing in the trial. After the hearing, the organisations drafted a final declaration on their initial observations.

On 6,7 and 8 November 2012, the trial against 46 lawyers who are suspected of having ties with the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) continued in Silivri, Turkey.

The trial against the 46 lawyers was once more postponed. The next hearing is scheduled on 3 January 2013. L4L is monitoring the situation closely and is deliberating on the actions to be taken to uphold the international pressure on Turkey.