, describing an appeals court decision annulling the outcome of the party’s 2023 congress as a serious blow to the rule of law and human rights.){kind=link}
Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Turkish authorities to end a crackdown on the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), describing an appeals court decision annulling the outcome of the party’s 2023 congress as a serious blow to the rule of law and human rights.
The rights group said the ruling marked a serious escalation in politically motivated attacks on freedom of association and a broader campaign targeting the CHP, its elected representatives and municipal officials since the imprisonment of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in March 2025.
The decision, made public on May 21, overturned a lower court ruling that had upheld Özgür Özel’s election as party leader, effectively removing him from the post and ordering the reinstatement of former CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The ruling remains subject to appeal before the Supreme Court of Appeals.
“There are serious concerns that the justice system is being instrumentalized to change the outcome of internal elections of a political party,” Amnesty said.
The rights watchdog also criticized police intervention at CHP headquarters on May 24, when officers moved to enforce the ruling and remove Özel and his team from the building. Police used tear gas inside the building and water cannons against supporters gathered outside.
“Using tear gas in confined spaces where individuals cannot escape is unlawful and could amount to torture or other ill-treatment,” Amnesty said.
The group also pointed to what it called a broader pattern of politically motivated investigations targeting CHP-run municipalities, saying mass detentions of opposition officials were another indication of the weaponization of the criminal justice system.
Amnesty also raised concerns about the prosecution of İstanbul mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 400 others, including members of his team, district mayors, municipal workers and businesspeople.
The trial, which began on March 9 at the Marmara prison complex in Silivri, includes charges of running a criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and bid rigging. Amnesty said the reliance on anonymous witnesses and defendants seeking possible leniency raised serious fair trial concerns.
İmamoğlu, widely seen as President Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was arrested in March 2025 on corruption charges that critics say are politically motivated and intended to sideline him ahead of the 2028 general election.
The rights group called on Turkey to uphold its international human rights obligations by protecting the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, ending the crackdown on the political opposition and restoring judicial independence.
Amnesty also urged the authorities to immediately release those detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights and to drop all related charges.
This article is republished from the Stockholm Center for Freedom.