Following the prosecutor’s appeal, a detention order was issued for Barım, who had been released under judicial control measures on the grounds of health issues

CANSU PİŞKİN, ISTANBUL

The second hearing in the trial of imprisoned talent manager Ayşe Barım on charges of “aiding an attempt to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey” was held at the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court on 1 October 2025.

Barım and her lawyers were present at the hearing, which was monitored by P24.

Since the courtroom of the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court had insufficient seating capacity, the adjacent courtroom of the Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court was also opened to the public. Spectators in the Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court followed the hearing via a judicial videoconferencing link.

The investigation against Barım was initiated following a tip-off by a person named Sedat Gül. The informant, Sedat Gül, sent an email on 13 January 2025, from his personal email account to email addresses with the tbmm.gov.tr, egm.gov.tr, and iletişim.gov.tr, with the subject line “Request for legal and societal measures against structures and activities threatening our country’s prosperity,” and attached five social media posts to the email, thereby filing a complaint against Barım. The complaint document was forwarded to the branch directorate for review via a letter dated 15 January from the Directorate General for Combating Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM). On 22 January, the KOM Branch Directorate, having completed its review, issued a report stating that “there was no concrete evidence, information, document, or proof regarding the nature or identification of any crime or criminal elements in the content of the complaint.” However, despite this report, Barım was taken into custody 36 hours later and was imprisoned pending trial on 27 January.

The witness, Sedat Gül, who connected to the hearing via the judicial videoconferencing system from the court in Giresun, stated that he knew Barım from social media and did not recall the content of the tip-off that led to her arrest. The presiding judge asked Gül why he had filed the report. Gül replied, “I wrote my opinion as a citizen because I kept seeing it on social media and in the news. I have no firsthand testimony or witness account.”

Barım’s lawyer, Deniz Ketenci, asked the witness Gül, “Do you have any information about Ayşe Barım other than what you read on social media?” Gül said he did not. Ketenci asked Gül with what sense of responsibility he had filed the report. Gül replied, “With a sense of civic responsibility.”

The court later heard testimony from actors working with Barım’s management company, ID İletişim: Hümeyra Adak, Bergüzar Korel, Ceyda Düvenci, Dolunay Soysert, Halit Ergenç, Mehmet Günsur, Nejat İşler, Nehir Erdoğan, Rıza Kocaoğlu, Selma Ergenç, Sevilay Demirci (Producer), Şükran Ovalı, and Zafer Algöz, as well as journalist Enver Aysever, as witnesses.

All the actors who testified stated that they had gone to the Gezi Park protests of their own free will. Among the witnesses, Ceyda Düvenci stated that she had attended the meeting between artists and then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara during the Gezi Park protests not at Barım’s direction, but at the invitation of Yavuz Bingöl.

Journalist Aysever, who was heard later, said, “I know Ayşe as a successful manager from a distance. I have no testimony regarding her exerting control over the actors. I only criticized her regarding her management.”

Barım requested her release due to health issues

The court had previously requested a report from the Forensic Medicine Institute regarding Barım’s health condition. However, on 7 August, Barım submitted two petitions stating that she did not wish to go to the hospital.

In her statement regarding her detention, Barım said, “I have been detained for 248 days on very serious charges and allegations. This unjust process I am going through is terrifying me. I want to believe in the existence of justice. I am struggling with brain and heart issues in a solitary cell. I am not actually refusing treatment. Since June, I have experienced serious fainting spells related to my heart condition. As a result, I was referred to state hospitals. I have been to various state hospitals at least 12 times. Most recently, I went to Çam Sakura Hospital and appeared before the medical board. All tests were conducted. I do not know why the Forensic Medicine Institute needs another report, because all my reports were completed at the state hospitals I was referred to. At the last hospital I was referred to, they could not find a vein in my arm, and both my arms turned purple. I want my treatment to be performed by my own doctors. If there is a delay in my heart surgery, my condition could progress to the point of needing a heart transplant. The aneurysm in my brain is also in a high-risk area.”

“I want to undergo these two life-threatening surgeries under my own terms and with my own doctors. Both surgeries carry the risk of turning into open surgery. They are high-risk procedures. All evidence has been gathered, witnesses have been heard, and I now want to be tried without detention. I am requesting my release so I can regain my health,” she added.

Sedat Özyurt, one of Barım’s lawyers, stated that the material and moral elements of the alleged crime do not exist: “The legal elements of the crime attributed to the defendant are absent. There is no evidence establishing a causal link between the actions allegedly committed by the defendant and the alleged outcome. There is no evidence within the case file indicating that the actions attributed to the defendant were actually carried out. The allegations that she directed actors working for her company to Gezi protests were refuted by witness statements. Therefore, since there is no allegation, there is no evidence.” Emphasizing that Barım did not commit the impugned crime and that this fact is established by the case file and the evidence, Özyurt requested Barım’s release.

Deniz Ketenci, one of Barım’s lawyer, stated, “The informant named Sedat Gül filed a criminal complaint against my client by attaching five social media posts. The Directorate of the Organized Crime Bureau stated regarding the allegations in the complaint, ‘There is no concrete information or documentation; it is an abstract claim, and there is no need for an investigation.’ Exactly 36 hours later, based on the same report, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a detention order against my client, who was subsequently placed in pre-trial detention. Under normal circumstances, one proceeds from evidence to the suspect, but in this case, my client was detained first, and only afterward did they attempt to gather evidence. Although all evidence collected by the prosecution was in my client’s favor, it was not included in the indictment.”

Ketenci requested the client’s release, highlighting that the client has health issues posing a risk of death: “All reports obtained from hospitals to date have identified that the client has six heart conditions, two stents in the brain, and a new aneurysm in the main brain artery that is gradually growing. All treatments carry a risk of death. The administration of Çam Sakura Hospital has stated that, at this stage, my client’s treatment is too risky and therefore cannot be performed. There is no evidence justifying my client’s detention. She requests that brain and heart surgeries be performed by physicians of her own choosing. We are defending her right to life before her right to freedom. Every day the client spends in prison puts her at risk of death. The decision to continue detention amounts to abandoning the client to death.”

The prosecutor, who did not ask a single question to the witnesses during the trial, requested the continuation of detention.

Citing health issues, the court ordered Barım’s release under judicial control measures, including a ban on leaving her residence and the country. The trial was postponed until 11 February 2026.

The prosecutor’s office objected to the release, a decision to re-arrest issued

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office objected to Barım’s release decision. The panel of the Istanbul 26th High Criminal Court, which reviewed the appeal, upheld the release decision. Consequently, the prosecution’s appeal was forwarded to the Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court, the higher-level court, on 2 October. The Istanbul 27th High Criminal Court accepted the prosecution’s appeal on the same day and ordered Barım’s re-arrest.

Meanwhile, Barım, who is suffering from serious health issues, had been admitted to the hospital on 2 October for treatment. While Barım was expected to return to prison, permission was granted for her to continue her treatment at the hospital due to her health issues. This decision was made after Barım’s doctor at American Hospital stated that she could not be released without the scheduled tests being conducted. Barım’s treatment is continuing under police guard.

Background of the case

While allegations of monopolization in the film and television industry have been on the agenda for some time, the Competition Authority decided to launch an investigation into 21 entities operating in the casting agency and talent management sectors on 8 January 2025.

The debate sparked over Ayşe Barım has raised important questions regarding the obstruction of free competition in the sector.

According to the allegations, Barım, due to her strong influence in the sector, ensures that certain actors consistently appear in the same projects and creates an environment that hinders competition.

Although ID Communication denies the allegations, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the matter on 10 January.

As part of the investigation, Barım was barred from leaving the country on 13 January, and her financial transactions were placed under scrutiny.

Barım was imprisoned pending trial on 27 January on charges of “attempting to overthrow the Government of the Republic of Turkey or prevent it from performing its duties.”