The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) co-rapporteurs on Turkey said Sunday that the country’s opposition must not be silenced “through force or judicial pressure,” after police stormed the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara to enforce a court ruling removing its elected leadership, Turkish Minute reported.
Lord David Blencathra and Yves Cruchten, co-rapporteurs of the assembly’s Monitoring Committee, said they were “deeply concerned” by scenes at CHP headquarters, including reports of police using tear gas and rubber bullets against party members, elected representatives and demonstrators.
The statement came after riot police entered the CHP building on Sunday following a May 21 court ruling annulling the party’s 2023 congress, which had brought Özgür Özel to the party leadership, and reinstating Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Reuters reported that police used tear gas to remove the ousted leadership from the building.
The CHP, Turkey’s oldest political party and the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has denounced the ruling as a “judicial coup.” The government claims the courts act independently.
“In a democratic society governed by the rule of law, political competition must take place through democratic institutions and elections, never through intimidation, disproportionate use of force, or actions perceived as politically motivated,” the co-rapporteurs said.
They said recent developments raised “serious concern” about democratic pluralism, freedom of assembly and expression, judicial independence and the rights of the opposition.
“For a government to use the courts to remove the leadership of an independent opposition party is a fundamental abuse of the principles of democracy in a free society,” they said.
The Council of Europe, a 46-nation human rights body of which Turkey is a member, monitors compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. PACE’s Monitoring Committee follows whether member states meet their democracy, rule of law and human rights obligations.
Blencathra and Cruchten called on Turkish authorities to show restraint, avoid further escalation and ensure that state institutions comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and Council of Europe standards.
The court ruling marked the latest escalation in a crackdown on the CHP since the party defeated the AKP in the March 2024 local elections and emerged as Turkey’s leading political force nationwide. The crackdown has included arrests and investigations targeting CHP mayors, local officials and party figures.
İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main political rival and the CHP’s presidential candidate, has been jailed since 2025 on charges he denies. His imprisonment and the court intervention in the CHP leadership have fueled concerns that Turkey’s next national election could take place under conditions in which the opposition is unable to compete.
