ELCI AND OTHERS v. TURKEY JUDGMENT 87 h) The United Nations Statement of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, adopted by consensus by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders on 7 September 1990 564. The applicants referred to several of the basic principles set out in this Statement: - that lawyers, in protecting their clients' rights, shall seek to uphold human rights, should be able to act freely and diligently, in accordance with the law and professional ethics; - that Governments should ensure that lawyers may exercise their profession without hindrance, intimidation or sanction; - that lawyers should not be identified with the clients they defend; - that lawyers should enjoy civil and criminal immunity for all statements they make in good faith; and - that the lawyer/client relationship, correspondence and consultation should be confidential. i) Report on the arrest of defence lawyers in Turkey by Jon Rud for the Norwegian Bar Association (26 April to 1 May 1994) 565. Mr Rud was looking into the allegations in the present case. In a meeting with the Chief State Security Court Prosecutor, Bekir Selçuk, he reported the latter as saying that he was aware of the applicants' complaints of torture, which had not been submitted to the proper authorities and were a classic defence tactic. When apparently asked why complaints to the European Commission of Human Rights featured in the indictment against the applicants, Mr Selçuk replied that the right of appeal to the Commission had been abused, which was an offence under Turkish law, being propaganda directed against the State, belittling Turkey. The lawyers had not exhausted domestic remedies and were making false allegations. Lawyers should examine their clients' cases more carefully before submitting unwarranted claims simply on the clients' instructions. j) Amnesty International Urgent Action Communiqués, dated 19 and 24 November 1993, 9 and 17 December 1993 and 25 January 1994 566. The communiqués referred to the applicants' arrest and detention as they evolved. That of 17 December 1993 recorded the allegations of Meral Daniş Beştaş of having been tortured whilst in the custody of the gendarmerie. That of 25 January 1994 recorded the similar allegations of Tahir Elçi and Sabahattin Acar.