Three university students in İstanbul is facing a prison sentence for holding a sign that referred to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a “dictator” during a youth demonstration on Apr 8.
Prosecutors filed an indictment yesterday against Esila Ayık and two others, requesting a sentence of between one year and two months to four years and eight months under for insulting the president.
Ayık was detained on Apr 9, one day after she participated in the “Youth Solidarity Stage” protest in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district. The event, which drew thousands of students, was part of a wider protest wave sparked by the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March. Demonstrators had called for the release of hundreds of young people detained in the protests.
Ayık was taken into custody during a raid at her home in the early hours of Apr 9 and was later formally arrested and sent to Bakırköy Women’s Prison.
According to the indictment prepared by the İstanbul Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Ayık and two others, identified as A.Ö. and M.E.E., were photographed holding signs allegedly containing criminal content during the protest. One of the signs reportedly featured Erdoğan’s silhouette alongside phrases considered insulting.
Ayık, who suffers from chronic heart and kidney conditions, was hospitalized on Apr 23 after her health deteriorated in custody. Despite her condition, a court rejected a petition to end her pretrial detention on Apr 26. (VK)
