{"id":10104,"date":"2026-02-12T01:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/10104\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T01:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T01:23:10","slug":"critics-slam-celebrity-managers-sentencing-on-coup-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/10104\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics slam celebrity manager\u2019s sentencing on coup charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Critics, including a European Parliament member and opposition politicians, have denounced an \u0130stanbul court\u2019s 12-year, six-month sentence for celebrity manager Ay\u015fe Bar\u0131m over the 2013 Gezi Park protests, calling it political, Turkish Minute <\/a>reported.<\/p>\n

The \u0130stanbul 26th High Criminal Court sentenced Bar\u0131m on Wednesday for \u201caiding an attempt to overthrow the government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nacho S\u00e1nchez Amor, a Spanish member of the European Parliament who tracks Turkey\u2019s rights record,\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on X that he stood in \u201cfull solidarity\u201d with Bar\u0131m and described the ruling as \u201coutrageous,\u201d adding that she was \u201canother victim of the prosecutor who today became Minister of Justice,\u201d a reference to Ak\u0131n G\u00fcrlek, who took over the position of justice minister today from his predecessor, Y\u0131lmaz Tun\u00e7.<\/p>\n

Sezgin Tanr\u0131kulu, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party (CHP), said on X that sentencing Bar\u0131m 13 years after the Gezi protests \u201cfits neither law, nor justice, nor conscience,\u201d arguing that the case demonstrated the judiciary acting in line with the \u201ccurrent political needs\u201d of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).<\/p>\n

Ay\u015fe Bar\u0131m\u2019a, Gezi’den 13 y\u0131l sonra, Gezi gerek\u00e7e g\u00f6sterilerek 12 y\u0131l 6 ay hapis cezas\u0131 verilmesi; ne hukuka, ne adalete, ne de vicdana s\u0131\u011fmaktad\u0131r. <\/p>\n

Bu karar, t\u0131pk\u0131 benzer davalarda oldu\u011fu gibi, yarg\u0131n\u0131n ba\u011f\u0131ms\u0131z ve tarafs\u0131z bir \u015fekilde de\u011fil; siyasi saiklerle, Adalet ve\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sezgin Tanr\u0131kulu (@MSTanrikulu) February 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Tanr\u0131kulu described Gezi as a mass social movement in which millions exercised their constitutional right to protest peacefully and said harsh sentences built on interpretation rather than \u201cconcrete, certain\u201d evidence violated basic principles of criminal procedure.<\/p>\n

Halef-selef Adalet Bakanlar\u0131, \u00fclkemizin \u201chukuk devleti\u201d oldu\u011funu balland\u0131rarak anlatt\u0131klar\u0131 s\u0131rada #Ay\u015feBar\u0131m<\/a>\u2019a olmayan su\u00e7tan 12 y\u0131l 6 ay ceza verildi. Neyle ve neden su\u00e7land\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 kimsenin anlamad\u0131\u011f\u0131 \u015ei\u015fli Belediye Ba\u015fkan\u0131m\u0131z #ResulEmrah\u015eahan<\/a> ise tahliye edilmedi.
Bakanlar\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u0130smet G\u00fcne\u015fhan (@ismetguneshan17) February 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Another CHP lawmaker, \u0130smet G\u00fcne\u015fhan, said on X that while outgoing and incoming justice ministers praised Turkey as a \u201cstate of law,\u201d Bar\u0131m received a 12-and-a-half-year sentence for a crime he said did not exist. He also linked the ruling to other cases involving opposition figures, including \u015ei\u015fli district Mayor Resul Emrah \u015eahan, who he said was not released.<\/p>\n

Other critical posts circulated online as the verdict spread. H\u00fcseyin Ayg\u00fcn, a lawyer and a former lawmaker from CHP,\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0that G\u00fcrlek, who had been repeatedly complained about to the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, had overseen the arrest of a wide range of government critics including Bar\u0131m.<\/p>\n

Journalist \u015eebnem Arsu wrote that the timing of the decision was tied to an intimidation campaign against President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019s opponents.<\/p>\n

Deutsche Welle correspondent Julia Hahn posted a short summary of the ruling, saying Bar\u0131m was sentenced for encouraging artists to join Gezi protests, allegations she denies.<\/p>\n

Bar\u0131m, 55, is a prominent talent manager and the founder of ID Communications, which represents actors and other public figures. Prosecutors accused her of steering artists\u2019 participation in the Gezi protests, which began as a sit-in against redevelopment of a small park in central \u0130stanbul and spread nationwide after a police crackdown, becoming a broader challenge to Erdo\u011fan\u2019s government, then led by him as prime minister.<\/p>\n

Turkey has pursued a series of prosecutions portraying Gezi as an organized attempt to topple the government, a narrative rejected by many protest participants and rights groups. The most prominent Gezi defendant, businessman and civil society figure Osman Kavala, is serving an aggravated life sentence despite a European Court of Human Rights ruling calling for his release, an issue that has fueled long-running tensions between Ankara and the Council of Europe.<\/p>\n