US, EU denounce conviction of İstanbul mayor
İmamoğlu addressing people on Thursday in a rally in protest of the court verdict. (Photo: AA)
The US State Department, the EU Delegation to Türkiye and the PACE co-rapportuers for Türkiye have criticized the sentencing of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The mayor was on Wednesday sentenced to 2 years and 7 months in prison for "insulting public officials" and banned from politics. He will lose his seat if the verdict is upheld.
The verdict constitutes a "major setback for democracy in Türkiye," the EU delegation said in a written statement.
"This sentence is disproportionate and confirms the systemic lack of independence of the judiciary and the undue political pressure on judges and prosecutors in Türkiye.
"Ahead of Presidential and Parliamentary elections next year, this decision is particularly significant in the context of politicisation of the country's judiciary system, which undermines the freedom and fairness of the electoral context.
"Türkiye needs to reverse the continuous backsliding on human rights and rule of law now."
"The state of democracy in Türkiye"
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Türkiye, John Howell and Boriss Cilevičs said they were "appalled" by the decision.
"This is another example of the restrictive and repressive environment in which opposition members operate, about which the Parliamentary Assembly already expressed its deep concern last October.
"We therefore once again urge the Turkish authorities to abolish those provisions of the Penal Code whose abusive use restricts freedom of expression year after year and authorises procedures that amount to judicial harassment of the opposition, undermining its capacity to contribute to democratic debate and even to the electoral process.
"The confirmation of this verdict would result in the banning from politics of a prominent opposition figure, who won the 2019 local elections in Istanbul after they were controversially annulled. With national elections only a few months away, this would be a serious signal about the state of Turkish democracy."
"Judicial harassment"
The US State Department said they were "deeply troubled and disappointed" by the decision.
"His conviction is inconsistent with respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. We remain gravely concerned by the continued judicial harassment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey, including through prolonged pretrial detention, overly broad claims of support for terrorism, and criminal insult cases.
"The people of Turkey deserve the ability to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms without fear of retribution. The right to exercise the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association is enshrined in Turkey's constitution, its international law obligations, and its OSCE commitments.
"We urge the government to cease prosecutions under criminal "insult" laws, and to respect the rights and freedoms of all Turkish citizens, including by ensuring an open environment for public debate."
What happened?
Ekrem İmamoğlu, a member of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), won the mayoral elections in March 2019 and the repeat elections three months later, ending the 25-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its predecessors in the city.
The first election, which İmamoğlu had won by less than 1 percent, was annulled at the request of the AKP due to "irregularities." He won the rerun election by nearly 10 percent.
In 2020, İmamoğlu said, "Those who canceled the elections are fools," in response to a statement from the interior minister, who had also called him a "fool." Because of these remarks, a case was filed against him for "insulting public officials" in 2021.
He was yesterday sentenced for insulting the country's top election officials. If the verdict is upheld, he will lose his seat as the mayor and will not be able to run for president in the next year's elections. One of the most popular opposition politicians, he has been mooted as a possible joint opposition candidate. (VK)