The jail sentence and political ban imposed on Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu has been widely condemned as a blow to Turkish democracy by Western governments, EU officials, European cities and rights groups. Mayor expected to appeal against ruling that is seen as an effort to sideline a serious rival for President Erdoğan in the upcoming elections.
A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, to more than two years in prison and banned him from holding political office for insulting officials more than three years ago.
In 2020, İmamoğlu said, “Those who canceled the elections are fools,” in response to a statement from the interior minister, who had also called him a “fool.” Because of these remarks, a case was filed against him for “insulting public officials” in 2021.
Imamoğlu was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council.
The mayor, who belongs to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), is expected to appeal the verdict. However, it is not clear if the appeal will be considered before the presidential and parliamentary elections in June of next year.
If the verdict is upheld, he will lose his seat as the mayor and will not be able to run for president in the next year’s elections. One of the most popular opposition politicians, he has been mooted as a possible joint opposition candidate.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s prison sentence with a political ban drew strong criticism from Turkey’s opposition parties, as well as international rights groups.
Supporters of the high-profile 52-year-old mayor said the move was an attempt to silence a key challenger of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of a national election in 2023.
CHP: ‘We will defeat this miserable, organized evil’
CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu cut short his visit to Germany following the court ruling. Releasing a video on his Twitter account, Kılıçdaroğlu accused the government of “staging a coup” against the people’s will. “I’m promising my nation that we will defeat this miserable, putschist, organized evil,” he remarked.
While the hearing was underway, İmamoğlu called on the people to gather outside of the municipality. Accompanied by Meral Akşener, head of the İYİ (Good) Party, an ally of the CHP, and Canan Kaftancıoğlu, the CHP’s İstanbul head, İmamoğlu addressed a crowd of thousands of people.
The case showed that there was no justice in the country, he said. “This is a case directed by those who don’t want divine values such as justice and democracy.”
Akşener also gave a speech, recalling President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s imprisonment in 1999, when he was the İstanbul mayor. “There is fear behind this decision,” she said. “The fear of you, the fear of democracy, the fear of the nation’s will…”
US State Department: “We are troubled”
A US State Department deputy spokesperson said they were “deeply troubled and disappointed” by the court verdict.
“This unjust sentence is inconsistent with respect for human rights,” Vedant Patel said yesterday. “We remain gravely concerned by the continued indictment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey and their prolonged pretrial detention.”
Germany: “A blow to democracy”
In a tweet, Germany’s Foreign Ministry said, “Today’s verdict against Ekrem İmamoğlu is a heavy blow to democracy, which requires controversial political debate. Particularly in times of an election, freedom of speech is the most important hallmark of a fair contest.”
The European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey, Nacho Sanchez Amor, said: “Justice in Turkey is in a calamitous state, grossly used for political purposes. Very sad day.”
In addition to Western governments and EU officials, Imamoglu was supported by the Mayors of Euro Cities that represents Florence, Warsaw, Barcelona, Leipzig, Ghent, Braga, Tallinn, Nantes, Oslo, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Vienna.
According to Euro Cities, the conduct of his trial has been nothing more than “a politically motivated attack on a member of the opposition.”
HRW: “An attack on democracy”
Tom Porteous, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch, described yesterday’s verdict as a “travesty of justice.”
“The verdict against Ekrem İmamoğlu is a travesty of justice and an attack on the democratic process, demonstrating that as the 2023 elections approach the government is prepared to misuse courts to sideline or silence key opposition figures. The verdict violates not only İmamoğlu’s rights but also denies Istanbul’s voters their rights when it deprives them of their chosen representative.”
Sources: Politico, Bianet English