Turkish prosecutors have asked a court to sentence celebrity manager Ayşe Barım to aggravated life imprisonment, escalating the charge in a case that accuses her of helping steer artists’ participation in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, with the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court set to deliver its verdict on Wednesday.
The prosecution’s earlier indictment sought a prison sentence of up to 30 years for Barım on an allegation of aiding an attempt to overthrow the government or prevent it from carrying out its duties. In its opinion on the merits filed ahead of the final hearing, the trial prosecutor instead asked the court to convict her of attempting to overthrow the government, a charge that carries an aggravated life sentence under Turkish law.
The opinion alleged that the Gezi protests were a planned and organized move against the government and that Barım played a role in planning, organization and coordination through actors and artists she represented, including activity on social media and in person.
Barım, the owner of ID Communications, was detained in January 2025 and spent 248 days in pretrial detention before the İstanbul 26th High Criminal Court ordered her release on October 1, 2025, imposing house arrest and a travel ban.
Prosecutors appealed that release, and a higher court again issued an arrest order. In the weeks that followed, the arrest warrant was lifted after a forensic report found her unfit for prison, leaving her under judicial supervision.
The Gezi Park protests began in late May 2013 as a small environmental sit-in in central İstanbul and grew into nationwide demonstrations over policing and the government of then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, now Turkey’s president. Turkish authorities later pursued a series of cases portraying the protests as an organized attempt to topple the government, a narrative rejected by many protest participants and rights groups.
Barım’s case has referenced other names tied to the long-running Gezi prosecutions, including jailed businessman Osman Kavala, actor Mehmet Ali Alabora and producer Çiğdem Mater Utku.