A Turkish court has returned two high-profile detainees — opposition mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district Mehmet Murat Çalık and former Istanbul city planner Tayfun Kahraman — to prison after hospital treatment despite serious health concerns, Turkish media reported.
Both men had been hospitalized in early January for medical conditions that relatives and legal teams say require close monitoring. Kahraman was sent back to Silivri Prison in İstanbul on Thursday after treatment for an acute relapse of multiple sclerosis, while Çalık was transferred the same day to Buca Prison in İzmir, two days after undergoing surgery to remove a mass in his neck.
Lawyers and family members say both men’s health problems have worsened during their time in prison.
Çalık’s lawyers said his continued arrest threatens his life, citing his ongoing battle with cancer and significant weight loss while in prison and warned that post-surgical care and hygiene needs could be compromised after his return to custody.
In early July Çalık was admitted to İzmir Atatürk Teaching and Research Hospital after experiencing significant weight loss and worsening symptoms. He underwent surgery for suspected lymphoma, and a hospital committee report dated July 7 cited serious risks, including signs of a possible recurrence. He was returned to prison shortly afterward, despite recommendations for release due to his deteriorating health.
Kahraman’s wife and supporters say his multiple sclerosis symptoms had intensified in recent months in Silivri Prison, leading to repeated hospital visits before his admission on January 2, when doctors administered high-dose corticosteroid treatment. They argue that regular neurological monitoring and follow-up care are difficult to maintain in prison conditions.
Çalık was detained on March 19 during the early stages of a large-scale investigation targeting İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and his close circle.
İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and considered to be the strongest political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was detained on March 19 along with dozens of İstanbul city officials. He was named his party’s presidential candidate in March for the next general election scheduled for 2028.
İmamoğlu is accused of running what prosecutors call a “criminal organization” within the municipality and committing 142 offenses including bribery, fraud, bid rigging and money laundering. He has denied the accusations and says they are politically motivated.
Kahraman was among eight defendants convicted in April 2022 of aiding an attempt to overthrow the government in connection with the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
The Gezi Park protests, which began over an urban development plan in central İstanbul in the summer of 2013 and spread to other cities in Turkey, posed a serious challenge to the rule of then-prime minister and current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They were violently suppressed by the government of Erdoğan, who later labelled the protests as a “coup attempt” against him.
Kahraman received an 18-year sentence, upheld on appeal in December 2022 by the Istanbul Regional Court and in September 2023 by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals.
The Constitutional Court ruled on July 31, 2025, that Kahraman’s right to a fair trial had been violated and said he should be retried. On November 6 the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court rejected the retrial order, accusing the Constitutional Court of acting outside its jurisdiction and denying both the retrial and the request for release.
Human rights groups and opposition politicians have long raised concerns about the treatment of political prisoners in Turkey, particularly the continued detention of critics and elected officials despite court rulings, health problems or lengthy pretrial processes. International rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have highlighted a pattern in Turkey of prosecutions and detentions of critics and opposition figures and ongoing concerns about judicial independence and implementation of rights court rulings.
