Istanbul Bar Association challenges midnight hearings in Imamoglu trial

September 11, 2026 at 08:43 PM2 min

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The Istanbul Bar Association filed a written objection with the 33rd High Criminal Court over hearings in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality trial that have continued past midnight. The bar argues the practice violates defendants' right to a fair trial and effective defense. The trial, involving 414 defendants including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, has run for 79 days.

Key Facts

The Istanbul Bar Association filed a written objection with the 33rd High Criminal Court on September 9 over hearings continuing past midnight.
The trial involves 414 defendants, 107 of whom are detained, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The 79th day of hearings concluded on Thursday night, and the trial was adjourned until Monday.
The bar argues the practice violates Articles 13, 17, and 36 of the Turkish Constitution and Articles 3 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Objection

Istanbul Bar Association President Ibrahim Kaboglu and bar executives observed the hearings at Silivri on Wednesday, September 9. The bar filed a written objection with the 33rd High Criminal Court, stating that hearings have continued past midnight for some time. The objection argues the practice harms the essence of the right to a fair trial and undermines defendants' ability to mount an effective defense. The bar said defendants are deprived of adequate sleep and rest, and the repetition of this on consecutive hearing days aggravates physical and mental fatigue.

Legal Arguments

The bar stated the practice goes beyond a procedural matter and directly concerns protection of personal integrity, prohibition of inhuman treatment, effective participation, and free will in testimony. It emphasized that the practice violates Articles 13, 17, and 36 of the Turkish Constitution and Articles 3 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The bar argued that protection of physical and mental integrity is guaranteed by Article 15 of the Constitution as part of the hard core of human rights and cannot be violated even in wartime. It said the state's obligation is higher for detained individuals and that courts bear a maximized obligation regarding inviolable rights in the hard core of human rights.

Trial Context

The trial began on March 9 at the Marmara Prison hearing halls in Silivri with 414 defendants, 107 of whom are detained. The 79th day of hearings concluded on Thursday night, and the trial was adjourned until Monday. Hearings have generally continued until midnight since the second hearing began on August 17. The bar stated that conducting hearings under these conditions is incompatible with the proportionality principle in Article 13 of the Constitution and that long hearing durations touch the essence of defense and fair trial rights.