Turkish court sentenced Istanbul’s opposition mayor today, Ekrem İmamoğlu, to two years and seven months in prison on a charge of insulting public officials; the court also imposed a political ban on him, and experts say, he’s seen as a potential challenger to President Erdoğan in the upcoming election.
Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of US State Department referred to the arrest. “The department is deeply troubled and disappointed by today’s sentencing of the Istanbul mayor to two years and seven months in prison based on insult laws that aim to restrict his exercise of free expression. This unjust sentence is inconsistent with respect for human rights, with respect to fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, and we remain gravely concerned by the continued indictment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey and their prolonged pretrial detention.
The right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association is fundamental to any healthy democracy, and we continue to urge Turkey to respect these fundamental freedoms and to bring this case to a swift and just resolution” Patel said.
