 on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and warning of an ongoing erosion of democracy and human rights in Turkey.){kind=link}
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and warning of an ongoing erosion of democracy and human rights in Turkey.
The resolution, adopted under urgent procedure during the assembly’s spring session in Strasbourg, was based on a Monitoring Committee report that detailed the circumstances of İmamoğlu’s March 19 detention and subsequent arrest, as well as the government’s response to mass protests that followed. İmamoğlu was put in pretrial detention after being nominated as the main opposition’s presidential candidate for 2028, in a primary that drew over 15 million voters.
The assembly said the timing of the arrest, together with the revocation of İmamoğlu’s university degree — a constitutional requirement for candidacy — amounted to a politically motivated attempt to block his participation in the election.
“The Parliamentary Assembly expresses its deepest concern at these decisions, which appear politically motivated and an attempt to intimidate the opposition, obstruct its actions, stifle pluralism and limit freedom of political debate,” the resolution said.
PACE strongly condemned the use of force during the largely peaceful nationwide protests that erupted after İmamoğlu’s detention. Authorities imposed a blanket ban on demonstrations, and law enforcement used tear gas, plastic bullets and water cannons in major cities. The Ministry of the Interior said more than 150 police officers were injured, while nearly 2,000 protesters were detained. The official number of injured civilians remains unknown.
The resolution also emphasized reports of beatings, unlawful strip-searches, sexual harassment and other abuses in custody.
It criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for describing the protests as “street terrorism.”
Journalists were also targeted, with at least 20 local reporters physically attacked and 10 detained. Foreign correspondents, including BBC’s Mark Lowen and Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, were either expelled or arrested. A photographer from Agence France-Presse was held for three days after covering the protests.
PACE further denounced a near-total restriction of access to major social media and messaging apps, imposed in the first two days after İmamoğlu’s arrest, and sanctions imposed on independent broadcasters by the country’s media regulator.
The adopted resolution demands the immediate release of İmamoğlu, the reinstatement of his university degree and the dropping of all unfounded charges. It lists 16 specific measures Turkey must take, including ending the repression of political opponents, guaranteeing press freedom, restoring judicial independence and ensuring free and fair elections.
While recognizing Turkey’s role in supporting Ukraine and recent steps in the Kurdish peace process, PACE said the events surrounding İmamoğlu’s arrest “represent a retreat from democratic values and go against the will of the Turkish people.”
The assembly called on all Council of Europe member states to condemn the arrest and the state’s response to the protests, echoing previous appeals by the European Union and the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights.