Turkey : Lawyers going to Boycott set up their own tea stoves

The boycott initiated by the Istanbul Bar against the high prices of food and beverages in courthouses continues. The lawyers who set up a tea stand opposite the Istanbul Courthouse served free tea to both their colleagues and citizens. Şişli Municipality also supported the action of the lawyers.

“BOYOCOT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THEIR JUSTICE IS ENDED”

Lawyer Kıvanç Kayaoğlu said, “The application of different prices to judges, prosecutors, lawyers and citizens within the courthouse should be stopped. The boycott will continue until this injustice ends. ”

It was learned that the Istanbul Bar Association, by contacting the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, wants to eliminate the inequality in price differences.

Lawyers announced their boycott decision with the statements they hung to the courthouse. Photo: Spokesperson

“3 LIRA TO US 8-9 LIRA TO US”

Istanbul Bar Association President Mehmet Durakoğlu also went to Anadolu Courthouse and supported the boycott decision of the lawyers here. Speaking to members of the press, Durakoğlu noted,

“The sale of food and beverages started to be opened for all kinds of transactions. As a result of the tenders opened, courthouses began to turn into shopping malls. The services provided here have ceased to be a service of a public building and increasingly turned to a commercial purpose. Transactions for making a profit began.

Perhaps if we stayed within certain dimensions while these were being done, we would not have any complaints. But very clearly differences are emerging as a result of commercial understanding in a large part of Istanbul courthouses today. And these differences also created serious problems, especially for lawyers who have to come to these courthouses and have their own workplace.

To put it in a very concrete way, the operator, who has received the tender today and is carrying out these transactions here, has given tea to judges and prosecutors for 1.25 TL, while for lawyers, he has started to give tea to lawyers 3-3 and a half TL.

While giving them coffee for 3 TL, he started giving coffee to lawyers for 8-9 TL. In other words, a negative picture emerged for lawyers. And it is as if the lawyers have become an institution that subsidizes the courthouse staff, ”he said.

Mehmet Durakoğlu, President of Istanbul Bar Association. Photo: Spokesperson

“WE THOUGH THAT WE NEED TO BE AT THE SAME POINT WITH THE JUDGES OF JUDGES”

Stating that they will continue to boycott until equality in prices, Durakoğlu said:

“Against all of these, the position we are in, our position in the courthouse, the function we see in the courthouses as a lawyer, in other words, because we are one of the founding elements of the judiciary, the fact that we have been treated differently from the judge than the prosecutor and that this treatment has been directed towards a commercial understanding directly, despite all the warnings we have not achieved today he had to take us to such a boycott phenomenon.

On the one hand, we want citizens to understand our position. On the other hand, we protest the inequality within the courthouses as the founding element of the judiciary. We will continue this boycott until equality is achieved.

This inequality should be eliminated as soon as possible. We think that we should be on the same spot with judges and prosecutors. There is a very intense complaint from our colleagues ”