Following an urgent procedure debate held in Strasbourg in plenary session on 9 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called on the Turkish authorities "to release immediately Ekrem İmamoğlu", the Mayor of Istanbul, who was arrested on 19 March 2025, placed in pre-trial detention on corruption charges, and removed from office. It also called for the dropping of "all unfounded charges against him and others involved in the same investigation" and repeal of the decision of Istanbul University to revoke his university degree.
The resolution adopted by PACE, based on the proposals by the PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Türkiye, Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC) and Lord David Blencathra (United Kingdom, ECPA), emphasises that the detention of Mr Imamoğlu, the criminal investigation against him and the revocation of his degree prevent him from standing as a presidential candidate. These decisions against Mr Imamoğlu "appear politically-motivated and an attempt to intimidate the opposition, obstruct its actions, stifle pluralism and limit freedom of political debate," the parliamentarians said.
Furthermore, PACE "strongly condemns the unjustified arrests and detentions of demonstrators", as well as "the disproportionate use of force by the law enforcement authorities" during protests that followed the arrest of Mr İmamoğlu, and the ill-treatment of protesters held in custody. It recalled that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of expression could only be restricted "under certain conditions provided for in the European Convention on Human Rights" - to which Türkiye is a State Party - and that these restrictions must be prescribed by law and "necessary in a democratic society".
In the face of these "worrying developments, which represent a retreat from democratic values and go against the will of the Turkish people", PACE called on the Turkish authorities to "fully respect the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, as well as other human rights in the context of the ongoing protests"; to stop any disproportionate use of force against protesters; to release those who have been detained "on unfounded charges"; to release all journalists detained because of reporting on protests; to allow the media to provide the public with necessary information; and to ensure a fair trial for all those detained in this context.
Finally, PACE urged the Turkish authorities to implement without delay the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights Osman Kavala, Selahattin Demirtaş (No. 2) and FigenYüksekdağ Şenoğlu and Others, by releasing activists and/or politicians detained on politically-motivated charges and "conducting a comprehensive reform of the justice system to fully guarantee the independence of the judiciary".
