Congress President of the Chamber of Local Authorities, Bernd Vöhringer, and Congress Secretary General, Mathieu Mori, met with Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, on 15 March 2023.

The meeting was an opportunity to re-affirm the Congress solidarity with Mayor Imamoglu following the prison sentence and political ban imposed on him by a Turkish court, as well as to exchange on the situation at local level following a series of devastating earthquakes which have hit the country.

“We firmly stand in support of the position expressed by Congress President Verbeek in December last year – freedom of expression is a fundamental right, and the decision taken by the court remains a matter of great concern for the state of local democracy and democracy in general,” stated President Vöhringer.

Mayor Imamoglu thanked the Congress for its continuing support and its decisive role in defending the ever so fragile local democracy. He expressed confidence that justice will prevail.