While Esila (22) was in Turkish prison, her landlord put her on the street: « I didn’t do anything wrong » (Ghent)

Esila Ayik is a Turkish photography student, who was recently stuck for 37 days in a prison in Istanbul. That happened after she took photos on a protest against President Erdogan. She didn’t have it easy behind bars: she shared her cell with 51 other women, and because of the poor hygiene in prison her health problems got worse every day.

Read too. Esila (22) was in a Turkish prison for 37 days because she took photos: « I am very happy to be back in a free country »

To make matters worse, she was put out of her home during her imprisonment. She says that in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet. When she returned to Ghent after her imprisonment, she immediately had to look for a new home.

« My friends packed my things, but they didn’t tell me at first not to make me upset, » says Esila. « I discovered it in the last days of my imprisonment, and to be honest I was very upset and angry. »

Inconvenient

According to the student, her imprisonment was the reason to put her out of the house. « They didn’t like it that I had to go to the cell. I didn’t think it was very humane. At least they could have waited for me to get out of prison, because I did nothing wrong. »

Now Esila lives with friends. « There was an empty room in their apartment, and I was moved there. »

Currently, the student mainly looks for peace and prepares for exams and other projects. « Maybe I will write a critical book about the justice in Turkey in the future, » she said earlier to this newspaper. « But I want to stay in Belgium. »