Council of Europe calls for the release of İmamoğlu! 'Politically motivated...'

Speaking at an emergency session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) regarding the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, CHP's Aysu Bankoğlu said, "The issue is not just an İmamoğlu issue. The issue is about regaining our democracy and protecting our future."

PACE, which includes parliamentarians from 46 countries, adopted resolution 16151, titled "The arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul and the state of democracy and human rights in Turkey," by a large majority.

Calling for the "immediate release" of IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the assembly decided by a majority vote that his arrest and detention "give the impression of being politically motivated." In PACE, where Turkey is represented by 18 parliamentarians from both ruling and opposition parties, the CHP delegation includes Gökçe Gökçen, Namık Tan, Yunus Emre, and Aysu Bankoğlu.

CHP Bartın MP Aysu Bankoğlu, in her speech at the PACE session regarding the IMM Mayor's arrest, said, "The issue is not just about standing up for Ekrem İmamoğlu; it is about standing up for our democracy, justice, and our future."

Bankoğlu stated the following:

"Distinguished colleagues, the person who addressed the nation saying, 'The issue is a national issue; it is an issue of justice, democracy, freedom, education, rights, and law; it is an issue of the country's future,' is currently under arrest. The person who said these words, who dared to remind us of what is truly at stake, is currently in prison. This person is the Mayor of Istanbul, elected by the people of a city of 16 million in accordance with democratic traditions, and is also our party's presidential candidate. This person is Ekrem İmamoğlu!.. and he won his mandate by defeating the ruling party in local elections not once, but three times. The AKP is imprisoning its political rivals and trying to rule the people through fear. The government knows very well that it has lost the support of the public and will lose the next presidential election. That is exactly why it has imprisoned its strongest political rival. The increasingly authoritarian government is arresting not only its political rivals but also journalists, artists, and students. What we are witnessing in Turkey today is a civil coup. The Erdoğan regime is criminalizing its opponents, throwing them in jail, and trying to rule through fear. However, the people are not afraid. In the face of injustice, millions of people across the country took to the streets for peaceful protests and exercised their constitutional right to demonstrate. However, these peaceful protests were met with the brutal violence of the police, including tear gas, water cannons, and plastic bullets. More than two thousand citizens were detained using disproportionate force. Three hundred and one people, mostly young people, are still in prison. The issue is not just an İmamoğlu issue. The issue is about regaining our democracy and protecting our future. Arbitrary arrests, political persecution, and attacks on fundamental freedoms have no place in any administration that dares to call itself democratic. History will not remember those who ignored the will of the people; it will remember those who stood up for freedom and resisted. Today, our people are united. We have united for justice, for the public conscience. We are united in a common destiny and a belief in a common future... The walls of fear are crumbling, and the youth and women are resisting. They will not be able to silence our people, the people. No matter how they imprison our elected leaders or us; the people have shown that they will overcome every trap and every conspiracy. Because the people are the true owners of this Republic. Because the people are greater than any government. And we will never take a step back, not now, nor in the future."

News Source: 12punto