Turkish bar chief’s hiring claims prompt calls for judicial recruitment inquiry

Gökhan Ağdemir, head of the Ankara No.

2 Bar Association in Turkey, said his organization gave references to lawyers seeking judicial jobs and that the Justice Ministry gave it preferential treatment.

He said 70 members became judges and prosecutors during the association’s roughly two-year term.

His remarks have prompted the Judges’ Union to ask how the lawyers were selected and whether the process followed the rules.

The İstanbul Bar Association said it planned to file a criminal complaint, arguing that favoritism would undermine equal access to public service and trust in the courts.

Ağdemir withdrew his bid for another term, saying his comments had been taken out of context and had become a political controversy.

The dispute comes amid longstanding concerns about judicial independence in Turkey, where more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors were dismissed after the failed 2016 coup.

The claims have not been explained in detail, and the calls for scrutiny focus on how judicial candidates are chosen.