Enemy law for detainees
Enemy law practices continue against those detained in İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality operations. Following transfers to distant prisons and the refusal to release sick detainees, Gülten's request to attend the birth of her daughter was recently denied.
In the operations that began with the arrest and removal from office of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party and Mayor of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, those arrested are being subjected to systematic pressure and torture. The practices applied to those arrested in order to make them confess against Ekrem İmamoğlu amount to torture. Ramazan Gülten, the recently arrested Director of Urban Planning and Urban Development at the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, revealed in a letter written from Marmara Prison in Silivri that his request for leave to attend the birth of his daughter had been denied.
Ramazan Gülten's lawyers, Hüseyin Ersöz and Enes Ermaner, had made an official application to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office for their client to be present during the birth, stating that his wife, Pınar Çalışkan, was experiencing a high-risk pregnancy. The petition stated that the pregnancy had been assessed as ‘high-risk’ by doctors.
SENT TO PRISON
Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, who has survived cancer twice and lost 18 kilos in 3.5 months in prison, was taken back to Buca Prison in handcuffs. Çalık, who was admitted to the coronary care unit a few days ago, had undergone an angiogram.
NOT EVEN GIVEN A BED
Dr. İpek Elif Atayman, former General Manager of Medya A.Ş., who was transferred from Silivri to Afyonkarahisar Closed Prison without her lawyers' knowledge, wrote about the mistreatment she endured under the title ‘Afyon Torture.’ Atayman stated, "I was transported to Afyon in a one-square-metre armoured cabin with my wrists shackled for 7.5 hours, given only a piece of bread. My wrists are bruised from the shackles. I am lying on the floor... You said, “Prisoners are entrusted to our state”; is this how you take care of them? Put an end to this physical and psychological violence, this torture."
TOURED HOSPITALS
Mahir Polat, Deputy General Secretary of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), was arrested on 23 March as part of an investigation into the ‘city agreement’ involving the İBB. Polat, who has had severe hypertension since the age of 21, was taken to the hospital twice from prison, and during his last hospital transfer, he underwent an angiogram. After the angiogram, he was sent back to Silivri Prison. Polat, who had an angiogram two weeks before his arrest, has six stents in his heart vessels. Polat's sentence was later converted to house arrest.
KAHRAMAN IS NOT BEING RELEASED
Tayfun Kahraman, who is being held in Silivri's Marmara Prison in connection with the Gezi case, is experiencing health problems due to multiple sclerosis. Calls have been made on Kahraman's behalf, saying, "He must be released immediately, he must receive the necessary treatment before it is too late, and he must be reunited with his family and students. Without delaying justice, immediately."
‘RISK OF SUDDEN DEATH’
Ayşe Barım, a manager who has been detained since January on charges of ‘acting as an agent of influence’ and ‘aiding in the overthrow of the government’ in the Gezi investigation, has had her lawyers file a new request for release, citing serious health issues. The lawyers, who filed a petition with the İstanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court, stated in their petition that Barım was found unconscious in her cell on 5 June. They noted that she ‘faces a risk of sudden death due to heart and brain disorders’ and submitted medical reports to the court.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Tutuklulara düşman hukuku, published in BirGün newspaper on July 14, 2025.
