A doctor jailed on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization and suspended from his position has alleged that police subjected him to ill-treatment, including beating him, while in custody, the Bianet news website reported.
Barış Kaya, a general surgery resident and member of the İstanbul Medical Chamber’s Human Rights Commission, was jailed pending trial by the İstanbul 1st Criminal Magistrate of Peace on June 26. Media reports did not specify which terrorist organization he was accused of being affiliated with.
In a letter from Marmara Prison in İstanbul, Kaya said after his detention on June 23, officers repeatedly hit his head against the ground and that the handcuffs caused bruising, swelling and loss of sensation in his hands.
He also alleged that on the second day of his detention he was taken from his cell after being told he would meet with a lawyer but instead spoke with a person who identified himself as an officer from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and asked Kaya to cooperate with the agency.
According to Kaya, the investigation cites his treatment of people alleged to be members of a terrorist organization as evidence against him. He denied the accusation, saying his work as a doctor required him to provide medical care regardless of patients’ backgrounds.
Kaya was previously arrested in March 2025 as part of a separate İzmir-based investigation on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization, disseminating terrorist propaganda and financing a terrorist organization. He spent nine months in pretrial detention before the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court ordered his release on December 9, 2025.
He had also been detained in July 2024 on accusations of membership in a terrorist organization but released by a court under judicial supervision.
The İstanbul Provincial Health Directorate suspended Kaya from his position in September 2024 despite the absence of a court ruling against him, interrupting the five-year general surgery residency he began in 2021. Kaya later staged a series of sit-ins outside the health directorate demanding his reinstatement. Police repeatedly detained him during the protests.
Kaya said his work with the İstanbul Medical Chamber’s Human Rights Commission, including visits to people who alleged rights violations, as well as free health screenings in villages, public health seminars and his participation in a statement opposing government interference in the Turkish Medical Association had been treated as evidence of links to a terrorist organization.
