On 23 February 2026, Enes Hocaoğulları, Congress youth delegate and human rights defender, will face trial in Ankara for a speech he made in a plenary debate held by the Congress in Strasbourg on 27 March 2025, on dismissals of mayors in Türkiye.
On this occasion, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, made the following statement today:
"For exercising his right to free speech, Enes Hocaoğulları was arrested and placed in detention in Ankara in August 2025. Soon after, a Congress delegation visited him in prison and called for his immediate release, which was granted on 8 September 2025 under judicial control and until the end of the trial.
"Last week, a Congress delegation on a high-level visit to Türkiye had an exchange of views with Enes Hocaoğulları, to express our continued support and solidarity. In the run-up to his trial, we reiterate our call on the Turkish authorities to drop all charges against Enes Hocaoğulları, and recall the importance of respecting, throughout Europe, freedom of expression as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights."
