Rapporteurs Issue Open Letter on Türkiye Local Democracy
Summary
Rapporteurs from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the European Parliament, and the European Committee of the Regions issued an open letter dated 27 April 2026 to Türkiye's Minister of the Interior expressing shared concerns about local democracy in Türkiye. The letter specifically raises concerns about the pre-trial detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, which entered its second year on 23 March 2026, as well as prolonged pre-trial detention of other opposition-affiliated local elected representatives. The rapporteurs referenced a Venice Commission report from October 2025 and reiterated their readiness to continue dialogue on democratic commitments.
“We are therefore jointly addressing you to express our shared concerns regarding recent developments affecting local democracy in your country, and how we can work together with you to overcome these.”
About this source
GovPing monitors Council of Europe News for new courts & legal regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 29 changes logged to date.
What changed
Rapporteurs from four European institutions issued an open letter to Türkiye's Minister of the Interior expressing shared concerns regarding recent developments affecting local democracy in Türkiye. The letter specifically highlights that the pre-trial detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu entered its second year on 23 March 2026, and that many other opposition-affiliated local elected representatives remain in prolonged pre-trial detention. The rapporteurs referenced the Venice Commission's assessment that pre-trial detention of elected mayors must fulfill conditions under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The open letter does not impose any legal obligations or compliance requirements on any party. It represents a diplomatic communication expressing political concerns and reaffirming a commitment to dialogue with Türkiye as a member of the Council of Europe and EU candidate country. There are no regulatory implications or compliance actions required from any entity.
Archived snapshot
Apr 28, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Rapporteurs of European institutions address an open letter on the situation of local democracy in Türkiye
Congress and Parliamentary Assembly among those to raise detention of Istanbul Mayor and other local elected representatives
The headquarters of the Council of Europe (left) in Strasbourg, alongside the European Court of Human Rights (bottom) and the European Parliament (right)
The rapporteurs on Türkiye of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Lord David Blencathra (United Kingdom, ECPA) and Yves Cruchten (Luxembourg, SOC), of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/G/PD), of the European Parliament Nacho Sánchez Amor (Spain, S&D) and President of the Working Group on Türkiye of the European Committee of the Regions Jelena Drenjanin (Sweden, EPP) have addressed the following letter to Minister of the Interior of Türkiye Mustafa Çiftçi:
“Dear Minister,
We, the Rapporteurs on Türkiye of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, of the European Parliament and the President of the Working Group on Türkiye of the European Committee of the Regions follow closely the situation in Türkiye, one of the oldest members of the Council of Europe and a candidate country to the European Union.
Our cooperation with Türkiye has been based on our common values, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which form the foundation of our continued engagement.
We are therefore jointly addressing you to express our shared concerns regarding recent developments affecting local democracy in your country, and how we can work together with you to overcome these.
In particular, we note that on 23 March of this year, the pre-trial detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul and President of the Union of Turkish municipalities has entered its second year. Furthermore, many other local elected representatives affiliated with the opposition in Türkiye remain in prolonged pre-trial detention. As recently emphasized by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) in its report of 24 October 2025 (CDL AD(2025)045 e), if elected mayors’ pretrial detention does not fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, this would negatively affect local democracy. The current situation is weakening democracy in general by undermining the rights of voters to freely choose their representatives. We have systematically raised our concerns regarding these issues through our political dialogue with the Turkish authorities.
Committed to strengthening local democracy in Türkiye, we reiterate our readiness to continue this dialogue, particularly with regard to adherence to fundamental principles of democracy, justice, human rights, and the issue of pre-trial detention of elected representatives. We stand ready to further support Türkiye in fulfilling its democratic commitments as a member of the Council of Europe and strategic partner of the European Union.
We trust that by jointly addressing these ongoing challenges, we can achieve tangible and sustainable progress in upholding democratic principles and values in Türkiye, to the benefit of its citizens and the wider European community.
We look forward to the continuation of our cooperation in a spirit of partnership and shared responsibility.”
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Strasbourg 27 April 2026
- Diminuer la taille du texte
- Augmenter la taille du texte
- Imprimer la page
2026-04-27T01:13:00
-
- en-GB
-
Related news
The Week Ahead: Key Events and Meetings
resources
- Media Department
- Week Ahead
- Calendar
- Speeches
- New Democratic Pact for Europe
- Council of Europe Summit, May 2023
- Contribution to UN 2030 agenda
- Theme files
- Photo galleries
- Video on demand
for the press
Guide for visiting journalists
European Court of Human Rights RSS feeds
Related changes
Get daily alerts for Council of Europe News
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from CoE.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when Council of Europe News publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.