The jailing by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government of a key political opponent is a blatant repudiation of the rights to political association and participation, 58 rights, media, and legal groups, including Human Rights Watch, said in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, whose party was about to nominate him to run for president, was arrested on March 19, 2025.
The organizations called on the European Union to issue an effective and bold response to the Erdoğan government's major blow to the rule of law and human rights in Türkiye.
"Türkiye as a democratic society based on the rule of law is a fiction as long as the government continues its move to eviscerate the main political opposition," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Today EU leaders will meet alongside President Erdoğan at the European Political Community summit. They need to take a firm stand and make clear that curtailing political rights will come at a cost."
The groups' message to the EU comes after the historic May 12 announcement by the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of its decision to disarm and disband, bringing to an end a four-decade conflict with the Turkish state.
The EU should make clear that it expects a reversal of negative rule of law and human rights trends before it can deepen bilateral trade and investment, such as through the modernization of the EU-Türkiye Customs Union sought by Ankara.
Tangible human rights improvement should include Türkiye's full implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgments, particularly in the cases of politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ Şenoğlu and human rights defender Osman Kavala, the groups said. The Erdoğan government needs to immediately and unconditionally release them and fully restore their rights, as well as those of other arbitrarily detained politicians, civic activists, lawyers, journalists, and human rights defenders.
The authorities should also carry out independent and prompt investigations into allegations of torture, and other ill-treatment, violations of fair trial rights and unlawful use of force by police during the recent protests sparked by İmamoğlu's detention, the groups said.
"EU efforts to pursue the deepening of economic and defense ties without insisting on human rights improvements risks emboldening the authorities' repressive policies and worsening democratic backsliding," Williamson said. "Engagement with the Turkish government should be based on clear human rights red lines as a non-negotiable element of bilateral relations."
