Chairmen of 15 Bar Associations in East and Southeast Turkey issued a joint statement calling for Turkey's High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) to withdraw its recent decision relieving Chief Public Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya of Van province from his office.

Sarikaya, responsible for the controversial Semdinli indictment prepared in the wake of a series of events sparked off by a book shop bombing in the city, was suspended from duty, disbarred and sacked Thursday.

In his indictment, Sarikaya had implicated senior security personnel in a conspiracy to set up an illegal organization and carrying out covert operations in the region, claiming that Turkey's Land Forces Commander was also involved.

In a statement they issued in Diyarbakir, chairmen of Bar Associations said the investigation launched against Sarikaya in advance of the Council decision was an intervention in justice and that the decision to sack him on top of that showed that the greatest threat to the independence of the judiciary as the Council and Turkey's Ministry of Justice.

They said the indictment Sarikaya was working on and cost him his job was aiming to attract attention to the outlawed structure within the state itself and to reveal this organization which had come to being outside of the laws.

Contemporary Jurists Association (CHD) Izmir branch also issued an appeal for the decision to be overturned and argued that there would not be a fair trial in the Semdinli case.

Socialist Democracy Party (SDP) leader Filiz Kocali made a written statement where she said "the doorway of judicial struggle against the secret warfare organization has been closed." She called on all democratic right activists to be present during the first hearing for the Semdinli case on May 4. (TK/II/YE)