Arrest and Imprisonment of Esila Ayık
Esila Ayık, a 22-year-old university student, was arrested on April 9, 2025, after a protest in Kadıköy, Istanbul, for allegedly carrying a placard that said "Diktatör Erdoğan" (Dictator Erdoğan) and insulting the president. Ayık says the placard wasn’t hers and that she picked it up from someone she didn’t know just to take a photo. The incident sparked debate about freedom of expression.
She was sent to Bakırköy Women’s Closed Prison. Her lawyers say she has chronic heart and kidney conditions and that prison life threatens her health. She was hospitalized on April 23 after falling ill in prison. Reports from doctors in Istanbul and Belgium say she is unfit for prison, noting her heart valves have worsened and new problems appeared in her aorta.
On May 15, 2025, at a hearing, Ayık and two other students were released after being in custody since April 9. The arrests came after they were detained during the April 8 Youth Solidarity Concert in Kadıköy for carrying placards with the message against the president. Ayık’s family says police raided her home around 2 a.m. and she was taken to Vatan Police Headquarters.
The indictment accused the trio of openly insulting the president, with a possible sentence of up to 4 years and 8 months.
Prison conditions drew criticism. Family and lawyers said Ayık’s clothes were not delivered, and she could only attend visits in pajamas. Guards allegedly mocked her, and the ward housed about 47 people with two bathrooms, one of which was out of order, making hygiene difficult. Ayık said guards treated her like a criminal, and she felt better only during visits from members of parliament.
The May 15 hearing began with a 2.5-hour delay due to late transfers. Access to the courtroom was restricted; only one lawyer and one journalist from two agencies were allowed inside. The prosecutor asked to keep Ayık in custody, but the court released her and the other two students.
In court, Ayık said she is studying photography in Belgium and attended the concert to take pictures. She explained she held the placard for less than five minutes to snap a photo and had no intention of committing a crime.
After her release, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts said they would help her continue her studies.
The case drew international attention. Belgium’s foreign minister and Ghent’s mayor spoke out, and the European Parliament later expressed concern about her detention and health, urging authorities to release people detained for exercising their rights. Özgür Çelik, a CHP leader in Istanbul, criticized the authorities for denying him access to Ayık and called the arrests unlawful.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:53 (CET).