The release of Mehmet Murat Çalık is a legal and moral necessity

Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık was detained on March 19, 2025, as part of a "corruption and criminal organization" investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office that caused a major public outcry. On March 23, 2025, he was arrested by the Criminal Judgeship of Peace and sent to Marmara Prison. When considering Çalık's public office, his local government practice, the trust relationship he has built with the public, and his health condition, this arrest decision is a source of serious concern not only legally but also in terms of human rights.

Born in 1972 in the Maçka district of Trabzon, Mehmet Murat Çalık is a graduate of the Istanbul Technical University Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He served as the technical deputy mayor in the Beylikdüzü Municipality during the Ekrem İmamoğlu era and was elected Mayor of Beylikdüzü from the Republican People's Party (CHP) in 2019 and 2024. Having developed a management model based on the right to the city through social municipalism, urban transformation, and a participatory management approach, Çalık has gained strong social support at the local level. The issue being discussed today is not just a legal process, but a grave human rights matter directly related to the right to health and human dignity.

THE SEVERITY OF HIS HEALTH CONDITION AND PRISON CONDITIONS

It is reported that since his arrest, Mehmet Murat Çalık has experienced significant weight loss (approximately 18 kg), his immune system has collapsed, and he has undergone surgery due to suspected lymphoma. Comprehensive reports prepared by hospitals have stated that, as a result of bone marrow biopsies, tumor markers, neutropenia findings, and radiological examinations, he is in a high-risk group for leukemia relapse. It has been stated that the prison environment is not suitable for continuing treatment under such risky health conditions, and it has been recommended that lighter security regimes, such as execution at home or house arrest, be applied.

PROBLEMS IN ACCESS TO TREATMENT

Despite all medical examinations, Çalık's health status has been prolonged by the Forensic Medicine Institute's (ATK) request for new and comprehensive examinations, delaying his treatment. This situation has been described by his lawyers as a "violation of the right to health" and a practice contrary to human dignity. Examinations and analyses conducted in fully equipped health institutions clearly reported that prison conditions were unsuitable for treatment; nevertheless, his transfer to a prison in İzmir caused him to be distanced from his family and treatment team. The delays experienced in prison-to-hospital transfer processes contain practices contrary to the Patient Rights Regulation, and subjecting sick prisoners to handcuffed and long-duration journeys poses serious risks in terms of human rights.

THE PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY IN ARREST AND ALTERNATIVES

Article 100 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for arrest as an exceptional measure only if there is a strong suspicion of a crime based on concrete evidence and a reason for arrest (such as flight risk or tampering with evidence). Article 101 of the same Code makes it mandatory for the arrest decision to be reasoned. Mehmet Murat Çalık is a public official who does not pose a flight risk due to his fixed residence, public recognition, and the fact that he holds an elected office. Furthermore, it is understood from information reflected in the press that a significant portion of the documents related to the investigation has already been collected. Under these conditions, the failure to prefer lighter measures such as house arrest or judicial control indicates that protective measures are being applied in a manner contrary to the principle of proportionality.

THE STATE'S RESPONSIBILITY REGARDING THE RIGHT TO HEALTH AND LIFE

Article 16 of the Law on the Execution of Penal and Security Measures No. 5275 makes it possible to postpone the execution of sentences for prisoners experiencing serious health problems. However, in practice, the implementation of this provision is mostly tied to the Forensic Medicine Institute's report; even comprehensive reports obtained from university and state hospitals are often not considered sufficient. Although health board reports obtained from various hospitals regarding Mehmet Murat Çalık clearly stated that treatment in prison conditions was not possible and that the risk of infection posed a life-threatening risk, the ATK's delay of the process has led to serious criticism. This situation is clearly contrary to the principle of the rule of law and the positive obligations to protect human life. While Article 17 of the Constitution guarantees everyone's right to life and to protect their material and spiritual existence, Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights regulates the right to life, and Article 3 regulates the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment. The European Court of Human Rights, in the Kudla/Poland and Kalashnikov/Russia rulings, clearly demonstrated the state's obligation to protect the health of detained persons. In this context, Mehmet Murat Çalık's detention constitutes an individual rights violation. The state's duty is to conduct the trial while observing health and human dignity, and to protect the individual before punishing them.

SOCIAL CONSCIENCE AND POLITICAL APPROACHES

Mehmet Murat Çalık's situation has stirred the conscience not only of legal experts but also of administrators from different political views and segments of society. The statement by AK Party Trabzon Metropolitan Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç that "Çalık should be tried without arrest" points to a sensitivity beyond political affiliation. Similarly, the words of Fatih Mayor Ergün Turan, "I am someone who loves our Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık. My hope is that he is released with a house arrest decision," are important statements drawing attention to the humanitarian dimension of the issue. This common conscientious stance shows that the public also tends to unite rather than divide when the right to freedom and life is at stake.

THE GENERAL SITUATION IN LIGHT OF LEGAL GROUNDS

Mehmet Murat Çalık's detention does not meet the exceptional arrest conditions defined in the Criminal Procedure Code, and the applicability of alternative measures has been ignored. The legal provisions that make it possible to postpone the execution of a sentence due to health conditions are not being operated, and prison conditions do not allow for treatment. The rights to life and health, guaranteed by the Constitution and the ECHR, carry a serious risk of being violated in the case of Mehmet Murat Çalık. It is clear that a trial can be conducted without violating the presumption of innocence and the right to health.

Mehmet Murat Çalık's detention contains serious drawbacks in terms of legal proportionality, the right to life, the right to health, and human dignity. Protective measures should never turn into a tool for punishment. It is necessary to take into account the reports from fully equipped hospitals, to rapidly conclude the ATK process, and to urgently implement lighter measures such as house arrest. Çalık's immediate release and the continuation of his trial without arrest is not just an individual decision, but a requirement of the rule of law and a common demand of the social conscience.

There is no turning back from the right to life.

Att. Dr. Mehmet Ruşen Gültekin & Att. Deniz Ali İlkem Demir