Ekrem İmamoğlu and Türkiye’s opposition: justice as a political weapon
On 19 March 2025, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and President of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT), was arrested on charges of “corruption” and “aiding terrorism”.
On 23 March, Mr İmamoğlu was placed in pre-trial detention on corruption charges, together with 47 other suspects. He was also removed from office, along with the district mayors of Şişli and Beylikdüzü, who were also detained in connection with the same investigation.
Mr İmamoğlu’s arrest came just four days before he was nominated as the candidate of Republican People’s Party (CHP) for the 2028 presidential election, in a primary in which over 15 million voters participated. In addition, on 18 March, Istanbul University revoked Mr İmamoğlu’s university degree, which under the Turkish Constitution, is a prerequisite for running for the country’s presidency. (1)
Freedom of expression’s under attack
After the arrest of Mayor İmamoğlu a wave of protests sparked all across the country an also in Berlin, Stockholm, and Paris (3), involving most of times the large number of migrant population of Turkish nationals in Europe. During this protests, not only protesters but also press organisations and agents came under the attention of Türkiye’s authorities.
According to the Council of Europe, on “27 March 2025, a British journalist from the BBC, Mark Lowen, was expelled on grounds of ‘threat to public order’, after having been detained for over seventeen hours; and, on 28 March 2025, Swedish journalist, Joakim Medin, who intended to cover the protests, was detained upon his arrival in Türkiye. Moreover, a photograph for Agence France-Presse, Yasin Akgül, had been detained for three days, after covering protests in Istanbul. [..] The Turkish Radio and Television supreme Council (RTÜK) imposed administrative fines and/or temporary suspensions of up to ten days on the television channels Halk TV, SZC TV, Tele 1 and Now TV.” (1)
Council of Europe: unanimous condemnation
The Bureau of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) expressed condemnation against the circumstances under which the arrest of mayor İmamoğlu has been carried on. The judgement of the institution was clear, and might be summarized under the Bureau’s words: “By preventing Mr İmamoğlu from standing as a presidential candidate, they also aim to intimidate and obstruct the opposition in Türkiye and to limit the Turkish citizens’ free political choice.” (2)
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty following the multiple alleged episodes of violence against the protesters carried on by Turkish police forces after the Mayor of Istanbul has been arrested, asked “Turkish authorities to uphold their human rights obligations with regard to respect for freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and media freedom” (5)
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, issued a strong statement, criticizing the timing of the jurisdictional and administrative acts by saying that “we urge Istanbul University to reverse this week’s revocation of Mayor İmamoğlu’s 1994 diploma. Having a university degree is a requirement for presidential candidates. Taking his away more than thirty years after it was granted, and at the moment he needed it, cannot be a coincidence. The University should give it back. [..] The timing of these actions also puts into question the credibility of charges” (4)
The European Union warns its candidate
In a joint statement issued by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas and Commissioner Kos, “The EU urges the Turkish authorities to provide full transparency and to follow due process. As an EU candidate country and long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Türkiye is expected to apply the highest democratic standards and practices.”(6)
ASSEDEL’s position
Given our values and our work, we follow the opinions expressed by the Council of Europe’s institutions by condemning firmly the circumstances under which the arrests of Mayor İmamoğlu, Resul Emrah Şahan, Beylikdüzü, Mehmet Murat Çalik and the other 106 citizens and public officers detained under the same investigation (1). ASSEDEL also invites the University of Istanbul to revoke their act against dr. Ekrem İmamoğlu’s degree. Finally, we invite Turkish government and authorities to abstain from further carrying on situations in which potential violations of the European Convention on Human Rights and other international humanitarian obligations might be detected.
SOURCES:
- Resolution 2597 (2025) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: “The arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul and the state of democracy and human rights in Türkiye”
- The Bureau of the Assembly calls for the immediate release of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul (19/03/2025)
- Homeland elections and the new wave of protests by Turkey’s migrants in Europe, Imren Borsuk (2025)
- “Congress: Mayor İmamoğlu’s detention is an assault on democracy; he must be released” Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (2025);
- “Turkish authorities should uphold the right to freedom of assembly and expression in the context of ongoing protests”, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.
- “Joint Statement by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas and Commissioner Kos on the recent events concerning Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu”, European Commission (2025)