Leave request for IMM Department Head Ramazan Gülten, whose wife is experiencing a high-risk pregnancy
Lawyers for Ramazan Gülten, the Head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Department of Zoning and Urban Planning, who is currently in prison, have filed an official request for him to be present at the birth of his wife, Pınar Çalışkan, who is experiencing a high-risk pregnancy.
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It has been announced that the pregnancy of Pınar Çalışkan Gülten, wife of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Head of Zoning and Urban Planning Department Ramazan Gülten, has been classified as "high-risk" by doctors. Gülten's lawyers, Hüseyin Ersöz and Enes Ermaner, filed an official request with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on July 4, 2025, for their client, who is being held at Marmara Prison, to be by his wife's side during the birth.
"THEY WENT THROUGH A LONG PROCESS WITH IVF TREATMENT"
The petition emphasized that the couple had been undergoing IVF treatment for a long time to have a child and had gone through intensive medical interventions during this process. It was stated that due to the wife's age and current health condition, the birth carries a serious life-threatening risk for both the mother and the baby.
EXCUSED LEAVE CAN BE GRANTED ACCORDING TO REGULATIONS
The lawyers based their request on Article 116 of the Law on the Execution of Penal and Security Measures and Article 6 of the Regulation on Excused Leave That Can Be Granted to Convicts and Detainees Due to the Death or Illness of Their Relatives. The legislation in question makes it possible for detainees to receive excused leave with the approval of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in cases where their first-degree relatives face serious illness or life-threatening situations.
"NOT JUST A BIRTH, BUT A STORY OF CLINGING TO LIFE"
The following statement was included in the application petition:
"Due to our client's wife's age and medical condition, this pregnancy is being monitored by doctors as a 'high-risk pregnancy,' and the birth
Until that moment, there is a possibility that our client's wife, and after the birth, both our client's wife and our client's newborn child, may experience complications that could pose a life-threatening risk. (ANNEX-2: Medical report regarding the high-risk pregnancy status) For this reason, it is of great importance that our client be present during the birth to support both his wife and his
newborn child who will be coming into the world.'