As part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Bedirhan Sarsılmaz, a member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), was taken into custody in Istanbul on 25 October 2024 and sent to prison by the court on 30 October. He was then transferred from Marmara No. 5 Prison to Tekirdağ No. 2 High-Security Prison. Upon his arrival, he was subjected to a strip search, which he refused. The indictment related to lawyer Sarsılmaz was initially rejected by the court. The prosecutor's office submitted it to another court, only to see it rejected again. 

Lawyer Emrah Baran told ANF: "The indictment was prepared on 17 January and sent to the 25th High Criminal Court. However, the court returned the indictment, citing an unlawful reason, claiming that there was neither a legal nor a factual connection between the suspects. In response, the prosecutor's office drafted separate indictments for the 15 detained individuals in the case and, instead of submitting them to the 5th High Criminal Court as required, unlawfully sent them to the 14th High Criminal Court. At this point, we filed an objection, and the 14th High Criminal Court accepted it, sending the file back to the prosecutor’s office.  Currently, the file is waiting at the prosecutor’s office to be sent back to the 25th High Criminal Court. Due to the prosecutor’s misinterpretation of the law and the courts’ rejection of the indictment, the process has been significantly prolonged."

Criminalization of professional activities 

Lawyer Baran underlined that Bedirhan Sarsılmaz had been transferred to Tekirdağ Type F Prison and added that the grounds for his arrest consisted solely of his professional activities. He said: "Previously, an investigation was launched against Bedirhan simply for greeting his client in prison. He and Halil Ay have now both been transferred to Tekirdağ. Upon arrival, he was subjected to a strip search. When he refused, they did not insist further. There is a confidentiality order on the case file, which will only be lifted once the indictment is accepted. Only then will we be able to access the details. When we examine the questions asked during his police interrogation and in the Criminal Judgeship of Peace hearing, we see that transcripts of a professional meeting were turned into criminal evidence against him."

In addition, lawyer Baran said that "some of his posts on Twitter (now X), in which he criticized unlawful actions committed by public officials, were presented as evidence of 'membership in an illegal organization.' One such post condemned the police raid on a condolence gathering, during which attendees were detained. Another post criticized the prevention of a commemoration for Mîr Perwer, the artist who was assassinated in France in 2022."