Türkiye: Erdoğan’s crackdown on political opponents must stop

The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament condemns the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul and Erdoğan’s main political rival and calls on the Turkish government to stop abuses of power targeting opposition politicians. Citizens’ right to protest must be respected, as the authorities banned any kind of demonstrations for four days in an apparent effort to prevent people from taking to the streets following the arrest.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) was expected to name İmamoğlu as its challenger to Erdogan and his detention came a day after Istanbul University annulled Imamoglu's degree. If the decision is not revoked, it will block him from running in presidential elections.

Renew Europe MEP, Malik Azmani (VVD, The Netherlands), shadow rapporteur on Türkiye, said:

“The arrest of İmamoğlu by the Turkish police is a clear example of a political driven move to undermine a key opposition figure. Yesterday, İmamoğlu's university diploma was suddenly revoked, a prerequisite for running as a presidential candidate for the upcoming elections. These anti-democratic acts are absolutely unacceptable, especially for an EU candidate country.

Renew Europe calls on the Turkish government to stop these practices and immediately release İmamoğlu. The systematic targeting of opposition politicians by the Turkish government do not build on a stronger partnership with the EU. Instead, it erodes trust and creates obstacles for a stronger EU-Türkiye relation.”