Turkish prosecutors have indicted Esila Ayık, a university student with chronic health problems, for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by holding a protest sign calling him a “dictator,” and are seeking up to four years, eight months in prison, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.
Prosecutors argue that Ayık’s actions were intended to defame the president and do not fall within the bounds of freedom of expression or legitimate criticism.
Ayık, who suffers from chronic heart and kidney conditions, was arrested on April 9 following a student-led protest in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district. She remains in pretrial detention at Bakırköy Women’s Prison, where she has not received her prescribed medication.
“She needs to take her medication every day, but despite our efforts to deliver it through her lawyers, she hasn’t received it,” one friend previously said. “We are extremely concerned about her health.”
Her lawyers have filed for her release on medical grounds, but the courts have yet to respond. A request by the İstanbul Chamber of Physicians’ (İTO) to examine her has also gone unanswered.
A photography student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, Ayık had been living there on a valid residence permit before traveling to Turkey for a 20-day visit to see her family. During her visit, she took part in the demonstration in Kadıköy, attended by thousands of students.
The demonstration was part of a wave of nationwide protests that erupted after the March 19 detention and subsequent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key opposition figure and a strong presidential challenger, on corruption charges that many consider politically motivated.
Nearly 2,000 people, including university students, were detained during the demonstrations. Around 300 of them were formally arrested.
In Turkey thousands of people are investigated, prosecuted or convicted on charges of insulting the president on the basis of the controversial Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The crime carries up to four years in prison, a sentence that can be increased if the act was committed using the mass media.
Her case has also sparked public criticism.
Prominent lawyer and human rights defender Cemil Çiçek condemned the prosecution in a post on social media, questioning the severity of the charges.
“Has this girl killed someone? Committed a disgraceful crime?” he wrote. “She’s been in prison for nearly a month. If you stay silent today, tomorrow it might be your door they knock on.”
Belgian MP Axel Ronse recently raised concerns over her treatment in a letter to the Turkish ambassador, pointing to the impact on her physical and mental wellbeing.
Turkish authorities have frequently been criticized for their systematic disregard of the health needs of prisoners. Every year rights groups report the death of dozens of sick prisoners, either while behind bars or shortly after their release, which often comes at the end-stage of their illness. Turkey recorded 709 deaths in prison in the first 11 months of 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Justice shared in response to a parliamentary inquiry.