The plenary of the Greek Bar Associations on Monday condemned the government crackdown on the Istanbul Bar Assocation and the decision to remove its president, Ibrahim Özden Kaboglu, and the ten-member board of directors.

As the Greek plenary's coordinating committee specifically said, "It unanimously condemns the persecution of the Istanbul Bar Association directors and the decision to remove the Bar Association's president Ibrahim Özden Kaboglu and its ten-member board of directors on the grounds of the Istanbul Bar Association's statement on December 21, 2024 on the death of two journalists by the attack of a Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle in northern Syria."

These persecutions, the committee said, "assault the freedom of expression and violate the freedom of association and independence of the legal profession in Türkiye, which are enshrined in and protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Türkiye is a member, and by the Charter of Core Principles of the European Legal Profession and Code of Conduct for European Lawyers" by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).

The Greek Bar Associations expressed their full support for the Istanbul Bar Association directors, and called on CCBE (in which the Turkish Bar Associations representatives are observers), and all Bar Associations of Europe, to stand by their persecuted colleagues.