Trial observation in Ankara

A joint delegation of lawyers from Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, organized by ELDH and IADL, will visit Ankara for a trial observation. They are mandated by ELDH, two of them also by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), to observe the trial before the criminal court of Ankara against Selçuk Kozağaçlı, member of the Ankara Bar Association and President of the Turkish Association of Progressive Lawyers (ÇHD), which is also a member association of ELDH. He is charged with insulting a public official in the exercise of his duties under Article 125/1-3/a-4  of the Turkish Penal Code. The charges against him are based on his criticism against the director of a prison in relation to the role the man played in the killing of 29 prisoners an wounding more than one hundred others in 2000. This massacre has never been properly investigated by the authorities.