The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities announced Monday that it will conduct a fact-finding visit to Turkey and seek face-to-face meetings with imprisoned elected officials, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The decision follows the arrest and suspension of opposition mayors including İmamoğlu, who was taken into custody on March 19 as part of corruption and terrorism-related investigations, which sparked mass protests in the country that increased after his formal arrest and suspension from office on Sunday.
Thirteen mayors have been dismissed and replaced with government-appointed trustees in recent days, affecting more than 4 million residents, according to the draft declaration adopted by the congress on March 24, which it will debate on Thursday.
The congress condemned what it described as the “relentless campaign of judicial harassment” against İmamoğlu and other opposition figures, warning that the recent developments risk undermining local democracy in Turkey.
The declaration calls İmamoğlu’s arrest “an assault on democracy” and criticizes the timing of the legal action — just days before the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was set to formally nominate him as its 2028 presidential candidate.
The visit aims to establish direct dialogue with Turkish officials and detainees, the congress said, underscoring its commitment to monitoring the state of local governance in member states. The delegation intends to meet with İmamoğlu and other dismissed mayors in person, as well as engage with Turkish authorities over the wave of arrests, protest bans and restrictions on freedom of expression.
“The right of local authorities to freely exercise self-government without fear of persecution or retaliation must be guaranteed regardless of the political views of their leaders and representatives,” the congress said in its declaration.
The move comes amid a broader deterioration of democratic standards in Turkey, the congress noted, citing increased use of pretrial detention, criminal charges against elected officials and sweeping limitations on public assembly and dissent.
The Strasbourg-based body also expressed concern over the annulment of İmamoğlu’s university diploma — a requirement for presidential candidates under the Turkish Constitution — shortly before his arrest. The congress said the action appeared intended to block his presidential candidacy and further restrict his political rights.
The congress reiterated its call for Turkish authorities to abolish the practice of dismissing elected mayors and appointing trustees in their place, a policy it has criticized repeatedly since 2016.
It also urged Ankara to end the broad application of counterterrorism laws against political opponents and to immediately release İmamoğlu and other detainees unless there is clear evidence justifying their continued detention.
The announcement of the upcoming visit comes as street protests continue in major cities including İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir, with demonstrators rallying in support of İmamoğlu and other dismissed officials. More than 1,400 people have been detained since the protests began, including journalists, according to figures released by the Turkish Interior Ministry.
The congress said it will coordinate its visit within the framework of its post-monitoring roadmap and ongoing dialogue with Turkish authorities.
The Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a founding member, reiterated its expectation that all member states uphold the principles laid out in the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the European Convention on Human Rights.