PES condemns move to seek more than 2,000 years of prison for Ekrem İmamoğlu

What you'd expect from a comedy sketch is now reality: prosecutors in Istanbul want cumulative prison terms of more than 2,000 years for CHP (Republican People's Party) mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, on 142 counts of corruption. The PES condemns this and urges immediate scrutiny and action from the European institutions following this grave injustice.

This news builds on İmamoğlu's 8-month unlawful pre-trial detention by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan which has since seen a wave of arbitrary arrests of CHP representatives across Türkiye, sparking protests across the country, all of which has been noted in the European Commission's report on Türkiye.

PES President Stefan Löfven said:

''We are witnessing autocracy in action from Ankara. Ekrem İmamoğlu, a democratically elected mayor, is now facing a minimum sentence of 828 years in prison and a maximum of 2352 years on unfounded charges, simply for daring to challenge the sitting President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a democratic election. This is a full-scale attack on democracy. We stand by our member parties and democratic pluralism in Türkiye and will continue to support them."

PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck said:

"If it weren't so tragic, it would sound like a bad joke: facing up to 2352 years in prison for daring to challenge the President in an election. This stresses how far Erdoğan's regime has moved away from any democratic norm. We stand in full solidarity with Ekrem İmamoğlu, his family and all those unjustly targeted. This politically motivated indictment cannot be ignored in the context of EU-Türkiye relations. We call upon the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to take the necessary steps. Democracy in Türkiye deserves more than silence. The world is watching."

The PES remains unwavering in its commitment to democracy and human rights in Türkiye. We will continue to stand with those who fight for political freedom and justice.