Strongest protest against the actions of the Turkish government
We have learned from relatives that the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested for political reasons on March 19, 2025, along with over one hundred municipal employees, journalists and business people, including our long-time EAPC member and Past-President Necati Özkan. The European Association of Political Consultants strongly protests against this move by the Turkish government, which has the sole purpose of preventing Ekrem Imamoglu from running for the 2028 presidential election. This approach violates all democratic principles and cannot be tolerated in any way. With this statement, we call on the Turkish government to immediately withdraw this action and release all those affected. Furthermore, we appeal to all democratic forces in the free world to exert pressure on the Turkish government to restore order in Turkey. Whoever has the opportunity to exert influence is asked to do so. We owe this to our democratic values.
March 19, 2025, EAPC European Association of Political Consultants