First statement from Esila Ayık after her release: 'I never lost hope'
The trial in which Esila Ayık and two other students were being tried with a demand for up to 4 years and 8 months in prison was held today at the Anatolian 77th Criminal Court of First Instance in Kartal. The court panel issued a release order for university students Esila Ayık, Arda Öğüşlü, and Mehmet Efe Erdoğan.
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University student Esila Ayık, who was arrested for carrying a sign reading "Dictator Erdoğan" during a protest in Kadıköy against the arrest of IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu and was held in prison for 36 days despite severe health conditions, made her first statement after being released.
Ayık said, "I never lost my hope for justice while I was there, and even though I was detained, I continued to dream.
We, as young people, need to continue to dream.
We, as young people, need to remain free, continue to be free, and must not be silenced."
According to the report by Sözcü, Ayık said the following in her first statement after her release:
"I want to thank everyone very much for their support. Other than that, I am quite happy. But I don't want to pass without saying this.
We, as young people, must not be alienated from the future. I am free right now. I am very happy about this. I never lost my hope for justice while I was there, and even though I was detained, I continued to dream.
We, as young people, need to continue to dream. We, as young people, need to remain free, continue to be free, and must not be silenced.
My only wish for now is for the other student friends to be released as soon as possible. So, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I want to thank all the journalists and media members. Because you were the ones who made our voices heard during this process.
Again, since I entered, thank you very much, especially to my own lawyers, a huge army of lawyers supported not only me but all the detained students; there were times when so many lawyers were coming that we couldn't even eat properly.
But I don't mean this in a bad way. They really showed us great support. That is why I would like to thank all the lawyers who came to visit, especially my own lawyers."