Following its high-level visit to Türkiye (9-11 February 2026), a delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, led by Congress President Marc Cools, which met with a number of mayors in prison, reaffirmed the Congress solidarity with local and regional elected representatives in the country who continue to face prolonged pre-trial detention.
“We stand firmly with elected representatives subjected to extended detention, including Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu and notably current and past members of the Congress,” stated President Marc Cools.
The delegation pointed out that pre-trial detention not only impacted the individual rights of the affected mayor but also the rights of the voters, as underlined by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. It reiterated the Congress’ unwavering support for the protection of local democracy in the country, together with its long-standing demand to halt the practice of appointing trustees in place of elected officials. It also called for the reinstatement of released mayors in their elected functions.
In light of the recent release of Mayor of Adana Zeydan Karalar, the delegation invited the Turkish authorities to continue on this path and reiterated the Congress call in its Declaration of 27 March 2025 to refrain from making use of lengthy detention on remand without indictment, in order to safeguard local governance in municipalities.
During their exchange of views, the Congress President and Deputy Minister of Interior Münir Karaloğlu agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation with Turkish authorities at all levels of governance. The Congress President expressed gratitude for the ongoing political dialogue with the authorities of Türkiye.
The delegation also highlighted the work to promote good practice on local governance carried out by 16 Turkish municipalities which were awarded the ELoGE good governance label on 10 February 2026.
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The delegation was composed of Congress President Marc Cools, Rapporteur on the situation of local democracy in Türkiye Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/G/PD), Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights Gudrun Mosler-Törnström (Austria, SOC/G/PD) and President of the Group of Independent Experts (GIE) Prof. Angel Moreno.
This visit was a follow-up to the Declaration on dismissals of mayors in Türkiye, adopted by the Congress on 27 March 2025 and urging the Turkish authorities to release detained mayors and stop their dismissals and detention. It follows previous visits in May, June and September 2025.
Contact: Congress Communication Unit, tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 38 90
