The following statement in support of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, translated into English, was originally prepared by the city of Paris on the initiative of Mayor Anne Hidalgo:
We, European mayors, condemn in the strongest possible terms the arrest of our colleague Ekrem Imamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, and of local elected representatives in Turkey.
We denounce his arbitrary imprisonment and express our deep concern at this situation and at the repeated attacks on fundamental rights and municipal freedoms in Turkey. These arrests, together with the constant pressure exerted on local elected representatives, mark a new stage in the violation of democratic principles in Turkey.
Elected democratically, Ekrem Imamoğlu, symbolises hope for a future based on pluralism, justice and respect for fundamental freedoms.
We therefore call on the Turkish authorities to :
- Immediately release the Mayor of Istanbul and opposition politicians arrested for political reasons;
- Put an end to prosecutions, political pressure and attacks on local freedoms;
- Guarantee respect for democratic freedoms and human rights in Turkey.
More broadly, we call on the European institutions to take immediate action to secure the release of our colleague and to take all necessary measures to guarantee respect for the rule of law in Turkey.
In this ordeal, we would like to express our solidarity with the people of Istanbul and to all those in Turkey who are concerned about the fate of our colleague.
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List of signatures (updated throughout the day):
– Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris
– Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig and President of Eurocities
– Femke Halsema, Mayor of Amsterdam
– Háris Doúkas, Mayor of Athens
– Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona
– Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga
– Philippe Close, Mayor of Brussels
– Gergely Karácsony, Mayor of Budapest
– Sara Funaro, Mayor of Florence
– Mathias De Clercq, Mayor of Ghent
– Belit Onay, Mayor of Hannover
– Juhana Vartiainen, Mayor of Helsinki
– Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan
– Eirik Lae Solberg, Governing Mayor of Oslo
– Heida Björg Hilmisdóttir, Mayor of Reykjavik
– Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome
– Jeanne Barseghian, Mayor of Strasbourg
– Jevgeni Ossinovski, Mayor of Tallinn
– Dominic Fritz, Mayor of Timisoara
– Minna Arve, Mayor of Turku
– Sharon Dijksma, Mayor of Utrecht
– Dejan Tomašević, Mayor of Zagreb
– Dario Nardella, MEP, and former Mayor of Florence
– Eurocities
– The Council of European Municipalities and Regions
– The International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF)
