Ghent student who was imprisoned in Istanbul released, but not yet acquitted (Ghent)
Turkey
Esila Ayik, the Turkish student photography on the Ghent Kask, is released. She is not yet acquitted: her trial for « insulting the Turkish president » in December occurs.
A court in Istanbul has decided that three students, including Esila Ayik, who are studying photography at the KASK in Ghent, will be released. The release is unconditional. Ayik can therefore also leave Turkey. During a first hearing on May 8, it was decided to extend her arrest, due to the risk that she would leave the country. « The prosecutor also demanded that she was arrested, » says Ayik’s lawyer Göksun Canberk Uluğ on the phone. « The judge did not want to comment on that. »
Trial in December
After all, the student is not yet acquitted: her case occurs in December. Ayik was arrested after a student meeting on April 8 because she had worn a sign with the words « Erdogan dictator » and is accused of « insulting the president. The prosecutor demands the maximum penalty: four years and eight months.
« Esila is doing pretty well, » says her lawyer. « She is now going to spend time with her family and to the doctor for a thorough examination. » Ayik, who is a heart and kidney patient, had no access to her normal medication in prison, and was also taken from prison to a hospital with physical complaints in the night of 23 to 24 April.
Long custody
Due to that first statement, Ayik was in custody for longer than average. Most students who were arrested in protests were released after two to three weeks, but on condition that they do not leave Turkey in anticipation of their process.
The protests in Istanbul started after Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested in March for accusation of corruption. Imamoglu and his Republican People’s Party CHP are currently the most important challengers of President Erdogan, who tries to avoid that there will be early elections in Turkey.
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The chairman of CHP Istanbul, Özgür Çelik, demanded the release of all young people who are still in prison immediately after the verdict. « All political prisoners must be released and the government must organize early elections. »
