The European Union on Thursday criticized the «disproportionate» sentence against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, saying it confirms «the systemic lack of independence of the judiciary.»
The EU External Action Service headed by the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, said that the conviction against the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is «a major setback for democracy in Turkey» and said it is «disproportionate».
«It confirms the systemic lack of independence of the judiciary and undue political pressure on judges and prosecutors in Turkey,» he stressed. Imamoglu was sentenced Wednesday to two years and seven months in prison for insulting members of the country’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK).
Moreover, coming just months before the presidential elections, the EU regrets that it undermines freedom and a level playing field in the polls, stressing that the sentence is «particularly significant» in the context of politicization of the Turkish judicial system.
«Turkey needs to reverse the continuing backsliding on human rights and the rule of law,» the EU diplomacy said in its statement.
This Thursday the main opposition leaders have vowed to «end tyranny» and form a nationwide coalition to replace the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The incumbent mayor won the Istanbul mayoralty by a narrow margin in the March 2019 elections, in which he faced an Erdogan ally.
The results were rejected by the relevant authorities and, after a new vote was held in June 2019, he won with a larger margin, which was a major setback for the president and the ruling party.
