Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is a horrific escalation in President Erdoğan's crackdown on the Turkish opposition. According to a statement by the Greens group in the European Parliament, a copy of which was received on Wednesday, according to the statement: “When leaders use the judiciary to launch a direct attack on their biggest democratic opponents, the European Union must take a firm stand. Erdoğan's erosion of judicial independence and targeting of political opponents is unacceptable in any country aspiring to EU membership. We call for the immediate release of Ekrem İmamoğlu. It is clear that autocrats feel empowered by the latest geopolitical developments, and the European Union must act decisively.”
Kiarán Kov, co-chair of the European Greens, added: “This arrest is clearly politically motivated and part of Erdoğan's crackdown on his biggest political opponents.” The European Union must hold the Erdoğan government accountable, so we expect the European Council meeting this week to take immediate, concrete measures to support democracy in Turkey. We, as the Green Party, support the Turkish people and their right to freely elect their leaders.
The Greens/European Freedom Alliance group in the European Parliament will request a general debate.
Budapest Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu belongs to the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's oldest political party, and is a member of the Party of European Socialists (PES). İmamoğlu has been mayor of Turkey's largest city since 2019 and won re-election last year. He is one of Turkey's most popular politicians and is widely considered Erdoğan's biggest challenger. The timing of his arrest was no coincidence: his party, the CHP, plans to nominate him as its presidential candidate next Sunday.