Meeting in Strasbourg on 24 March, ahead of the Congress’ 48th session, the Congress Bureau adopted a draft Declaration on dismissals of mayors in Türkiye and decided to include in the session’s agenda a debate under urgent procedure on this issue. Acting in the wake of the arrest and detention of Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Bureau proposed that the Congress call on the Turkish authorities to stop prosecuting and detaining elected representatives from opposition parties, release the current detainees and terminate overly broad limitations of freedoms of assembly and expression, among others. The Congress will debate the issue in plenary on Thursday 27 March.
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