İstanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, is “fighting for justice,” a member of the European Parliament said Friday after visiting him in prison, where he is being held on charges that could carry 2,430 years of jail time, Agence France-Presse reported.
Isabel Wiseler-Lima was speaking after a delegation of lawmakers from the European Parliament’s human rights subcommittee met with İmamoğlu at the end of a two-day trip to Turkey for talks on the state of democracy and the rule of law in a country that has long sought to join the EU.
On Friday they traveled to Marmara Prison near İstanbul, where they met with him and philanthropist Osman Kavala, who has been behind bars for nearly a decade.
Wiseler-Lima, who headed the delegation, said they visited with İmamoğlu for more than an hour, describing him as determined and focused on his legal defense despite his incarceration.
“I think he really appreciated the interest of the European Parliament and the fact that we were there,” she told a small group of journalists including Agence France-Presse.
“He is in prison, which is never an easy situation, but he was there with his documents and had already met with his lawyer. He is fighting, and that is a good thing,” she said.
A key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, İmamoğlu is generally seen as the only politician capable of defeating the long-serving leader at the ballot box.
His jailing in March was widely viewed as politically motivated, sparking Turkey’s largest wave of protests in over a decade. The authorities responded with a crackdown that led to the arrest of some 2,000 demonstrators.
Facing an array of charges, İmamoğlu will go on trial in the main corruption case on March 9.
Wiseler-Lima said İmamoğlu was caught in an intense judicial battle that he would have to win before being able to return fully to political life.
“For the moment he is really very strongly in a judicial fight. … He’s fighting for justice [and the right] to [continue] his political struggle,” she said in response to an AFP question.
‘Not just words but actions’
The visit was intended to convey resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and to underline what they described as growing international calls for İmamoğlu’s release, she said.
“Not only in the European Parliament, but internationally, there is a call for him to be free and able to continue” on his political path, she added.
“We really want to show him there is support for a just ruling [and] for justice.”
The MEPs also met with members of the opposition and ruling parties as well as civil society representatives, stressing their concerns about human rights and the rule of law and calling for concrete steps rather than assurances.
“We insist very strongly on human rights and the rule of law — these are fundamental,” she said.
“At the moment, there are clear problems, and we are asking for real signs, not just words but actions, that show this is the direction Turkey wants to take.”
