Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called for stricter laws on lawyers accused of terrorism links after protests over the death of a hunger-striking lawyer last week, Reuters reported.

Ebru Timtik died in an Istanbul hospital after a 238-day hunger strike last week. She was convicted on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.

She was a member of the Contemporary Lawyers’ Association (CHD), accused of close ties to the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a Marxist organization.

After her death, the Istanbul Bar Association hung a photo of Timtik outside its headquarters in protest.

“We should be discussing whether methods such as expulsion from the profession should be introduced for lawyers,” he told judges and prosecutors at a ceremony in Ankara.

According to him, just as thieves should not be called on to defend burglars, “a lawyer who defends terrorists should not be a terrorist.”

The European Union said it is deeply saddened by the death of Timtik, who was sentenced to 13 years. The EU said she became the fourth prisoner to die this year as a result of a hunger strike.

“The tragic outcome of their fight for a fair trial painfully illustrates the urgent need for the Turkish authorities to credibly address the human rights situation in the country,” it said.

Erdogan has defended recent changes in the structure of Turkish bar associations, many of which have sharply criticized the president. The changes will weaken their powers, allowing them to create multiple associations instead of one in each province.“It is very painful that the bars, which should be institutions of justice, turned into the backyard of terror organizations,” Erdogan said, adding that further measures would be taken to reform the bar associations.