The French capital on Tuesday made İstanbul’s jailed mayor a citizen of honor, with the city’s top official throwing her support behind the Turkish opposition figure.
Mass protests erupted in Turkey after the March 19 detention and subsequent arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a main rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on corruption charges his supporters say are false.
Widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging Erdoğan at the ballot box, İmamoğlu was elected as the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate for the 2028 election on the day he was jailed.
“Imamoglu is today unfairly prevented from representing his party and carrying the voice of millions of Turkish people,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told the city council after it voted to make him a citizen of honor.
“Deprived of his freedom and his basic rights, he should be able to count on the full support of Paris,” said the socialist, describing the French city as “the capital of human rights.”
This show of support “will perhaps allow the current Turkish authorities to hear the voices of democratic reason,” she added.
Hidalgo was among several European mayors who called for İmamoğlu’s release last month.
© Agence France-Presse