The Socialist International strongly condemns the unlawful arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the elected Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the presidential candidate of our member party CHP . This unjustified arrest has no legal grounds and was preceded by an escalating series of judicial harassment aimed at removing him from political life. Most recently, this includes the sudden revocation of his 31-year-old university diploma on March 18, which is a constitutional requirement to be a presidential candidate in Türkiye. Lastly, he was detained on March 19 and arrested on March 23, on charges that are evidently legally baseless.
Ekrem İmamoğlu was elected in 2019 as Mayor of Istanbul and also re-elected by a large margin in 2024. As of March 2025, he was confirmed as the presidential candidate of CHP, based on the votes of 15.5 million citizens in his party’s primary elections.
His arrest is an anti-democratic intervention against the will of the people; who have elected him as the Istanbul Mayor and furthermore as the presidential candidate for the next election.
Upon all these considerations, The Socialist International Council strongly urges for the immediate release and reinstatement of Ekrem İmamoğlu.
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