Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, visited jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Friday at Marmara Prison in Silivri, expressing strong solidarity and declaring that Turkey’s future in the European Union “begins in Silivri.”
İmamoğlu, a senior member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his party’s presidential candidate for the next election, was detained on March 19 and later arrested on corruption charges criticized as politically motivated. His arrest, widely seen as targeting the biggest political rival to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 presidential election, sparked Turkey’s worst protests in a decade.
“Ekrem always wins twice,” said Amor, referencing İmamoğlu’s two victories in İstanbul’s 2019 mayoral elections when the first election result was annulled due to alleged irregularities.
“That’s why I believe now is the right moment to remember how he became mayor. Turkey has hope and a future in the European Union and that future begins here in Silivri.”
Silivri is notorious for hosting Turkey’s prominent political prisoners.
İmamoğlu’s arrest sparked widespread protests across İstanbul, particularly in the Saraçhane neighborhood, where city hall is located. Demonstrators gathered in front of the municipal building for days to show solidarity with the mayor and protest his arrest.
The demonstrations, which included youth groups and civil society activists, resulted in the detention of around 2,000 people.
Amor, who spoke to reporters following the prison visit, thanked Turkish authorities for granting access to İmamoğlu, noting that securing the meeting had not been easy. He said he felt a responsibility to represent other European politicians who have been unable to visit detained opposition figures.
The arrest of İmamoğlu and other opposition politicians has attracted widespread criticism from Europe, the UN and some political parties and organizations around the continent.
Amor’s visit marks the first visit by a representative of a European Union institution and the second international official visit İmamoğlu has received since his arrest on March 23; the first was a delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
“In expressing solidarity with İmamoğlu, I also want to extend my support to families who have endured this difficult period, including Başak Demirtaş, Dilek İmamoğlu and Ayşe Buğra,” Amor said, referring to the wives of jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş, İmamoğlu and jailed businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala.
Both Demirtaş and Kavala have long been behind bars on what many call politically motivated charges despite rulings from the European Court of Human Rights in their favor.
“And I express solidarity with the rest of Mayor İmamoğlu’s team, who are also under pressure,” he added.
Dozens of İstanbul city officials have been detained and put in pretrial detention in subsequent operations as the government increased its crackdown on the main opposition party.
The EU official called the case against İmamoğlu baseless and politically driven.
“This is an entirely fabricated case,” he said. “That is the main message I want to deliver to my colleagues in the European Parliament.”
He accused Turkish prosecutors of acting with political motives.
“İmamoğlu is in prison because the ruling party’s candidates failed at the ballot box,” Amor said, referring to the failure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidates in the local elections in İstanbul.
İmamoğlu won the election in İstanbul again in the March 2024 local polls.
“The İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office appears to be executing a political assignment under the guise of legal proceedings,” he added.
Judicial independence under scrutiny
Amor also noted that the use of the judiciary to suppress political opposition remains one of the main obstacles to Turkey’s EU membership ambitions.
“The biggest barrier to Turkey’s EU accession is the instrumentalization of the judiciary to remove political rivals,” he said.
Turkey was officially recognized as a candidate for full EU membership in December 1999, and accession negotiations began in December 2005. Since 2018, talks have been stalled due to ongoing violations of the rule of law and fundamental democratic rights in Turkey. Sixteen of the 35 negotiating chapters have been opened, but only one has been closed so far.
The erosion in the rule of law in Turkey worsened after a failed coup in July 2016, when more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors were removed under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.
In a development that confirmed the erosion of the Turkish judiciary, Turkey was ranked 117th out of 142 countries in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index published in October 2024.
Mayor remains defiant despite imprisonment
Despite his detention, Amor said İmamoğlu appeared to be in good spirits.
“I found Mr. İmamoğlu in excellent condition, both mentally and emotionally. He continues his fight,” Amor noted. “But he’s also deeply concerned about the impact this case has had on his colleagues, friends and fellow officials at the municipality.”
Meeting with acting mayor
Earlier in the day, Amor met with İstanbul’s acting mayor, Nuri Aslan, at city hall in Saraçhane, expressing confidence that arrested Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu will return to office and continue his political mission
“I don’t know when, but I’m sure Ekrem İmamoglu will come back,” Amor said following the meeting. “He will resume the process of hope he initiated and carry on the push for political change. This is the only way to revive Turkey’s EU accession process.”
For his part, acting mayor Aslan, a member of the İstanbul City Council who was elected by the CHP to run the city in late March in the absence of Mayor İmamoğlu, welcomed Amor’s visit and praised the European Parliament’s stance.
“We appreciate your principled position and your personal attention to this troubling situation,” Aslan said. “İstanbul has long been a symbol of freedom, pluralism and participation. As an elected administration, we remain firmly committed to these values despite the current challenges.”
