Deploring the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the CoE said: “This is a calculated move aimed at undermining the integrity and fairness of electoral processes and amounts to an assault on democracy.”
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, released a statement deploring the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
The statement on behalf of the Congress includes the following:
"We deplore the decision to place Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu in detention, and demand his immediate release.
Putting Mayor İmamoğlu in jail when he is to be selected as his party's presidential candidate has nothing to do with justice, and everything to do with politics. This is a calculated move aimed at undermining the integrity and fairness of electoral processes and amounts to an assault on democracy.
For the same reason, 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 of corruption and links to terrorism that have been brought against Mayor İmamoğlu. They appear to be a sham. In three separate elections, Ekrem İmamoğlu was chosen as Mayor by the citizens of Istanbul, a city of more than 16 million people. He is also elected President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey. Democratic standards, upheld by the European Court of Human Rights, dictate that such cases must be handled with extreme care. When not based on absolute certainty and strong evidence, such actions go against the will of the people who placed their trust in their elected representative.
As a member of the Council of Europe, Turkey has committed itself to respect and uphold democratic values, the rule of law and human rights - including such essential rights as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly - and to accept the crucial role played by the opposition in a democratic society. We call on the Turkish authorities to respect these commitments.
"We continue to follow the situation closely. On 27 March, during its 48th session in Strasbourg, the Congress will hold an urgent debate on the dismissal of mayors in Turkey."
