Türkiye - December 2022

Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison and was banned from political activity through a Turkish court verdict, which is subject to appeal. Imamoglu was sentenced on the basis of insulting public officials through a comment he made in a speech after he won Istanbul’s election in 2019, in which he said that “those who cancelled the March 31 [2019 Istanbul mayoral] election are fools.” Critics have considered the ruling as a method to sideline Imamoglu ahead of 2023’s elections and have said the courts are under Erdoğan’s control, while the government insists the judiciary is independent. Thousands protested the verdict in Istanbul, and Human Rights Watch called it an attack on the democratic process and an “unjustified and politically calculated assault on Turkey’s political opposition” through misuse of courts.

Sources: Euractiv, The Guardian, Human Rights Watch