The international legal and human rights community is deeply concerned by prosecuting authorities’ recent criminal investigation and lawsuit against the Istanbul Bar Association, particularly its President, İbrahim Kaboğlu, and the executive board.

Speeches filled with rhetoric about the Constitution and the rule of law are not enough. If this administration is sincere about justice reaching the margins, it must demonstrate that sincerity by ceasing the systematic harassment of human rights defenders, ending the red-tagging of lawyers and activists, and addressing the socio-economic issues that continue to oppress the underprivileged. Without these actions, the President’s words will remain little more than political theater, far removed from the reality of the people he claims to serve.