The Turkish court Wednesday sentenced talent manager Ayşe Barım to 12 years and six months in prison on charges of aiding an attempt to overthrow the Turkish government in connection with the 2013 Gezi Park riots.
Barım had been on trial under an indictment accusing her of directing artists affiliated with her company to participate in the demonstrations and of being among the alleged organizers of the unrest.
Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence ranging from 22 years and six months to 30 years on charges of “aiding an attempt to overthrow the government of the Republic of Türkiye or to partially or completely prevent it from performing its duties through force and violence.”
She was arrested last January, shortly after she faced another flurry of accusations of monopolizing her sector.
An indictment against Barım says she was in contact with suspects involved in planning the 2013 riots. Those suspects include actor Memet Ali Alabora, as well as Çiğdem Mater and Osman Kavala. Prosecutors say that through her talent management company, Barım organized a social media campaign to incite riots, using social media accounts of celebrities working for her. She was engaged in a flurry of phone calls to organize a protest with the participation of celebrities she represented, seeking to tap their star power to spread the riots that started in Istanbul across the country.
On May 31, 2013, Turkish police intervened in what began as a peaceful protest against the redevelopment of the titular park adjacent to Taksim Square at the heart of Istanbul. What followed were nationwide riots that led to the torching of cars, public property and injuries in a matter of a few days.
The 2013 riots were the work of terrorist groups, the PKK and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), along with fringe factions linked to them. Portrayed as Arab Spring-style riots in the Western media, protesters garnered support even among moderate critics of the government despite their utter violence.
