A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the arrest and continued detention of Ekrem Imamoglu and urging the Government of Turkiye to uphold democratic values.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 257 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 257

Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the arrest and continued 
  detention of Ekrem Imamoglu and urging the Government of Turkiye to 
                       uphold democratic values.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2025

    Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the arrest and continued 
  detention of Ekrem Imamoglu and urging the Government of Turkiye to 
                       uphold democratic values.

Whereas the Republic of Turkiye is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization, an important ally of the United States, and, for many 
        years, had been on a path to join the European Union, a process that 
        involved important democratic and other reforms;
Whereas Ekrem Imamoglu was elected as Mayor of Istanbul, Turkiye, in 2019, and 
        was reelected in 2024;
Whereas Mr. Imamoglu was widely seen as a likely opposition party candidate to 
        compete in the 2028 Turkiye presidential election;
Whereas, on March 19, 2025, Turkish police detained Mr. Imamoglu along with more 
        than 100 other politicians, journalists, and businessmen;
Whereas, on March 23, 2025, Ekrem Imamoglu was formally arrested and charged 
        with corruption and terrorism charges, including establishing and 
        managing a criminal organization, taking bribes, extortion, and aiding 
        the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and was subsequently charged with 
        threatening Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek;
Whereas the Government of Turkiye has not provided any credible evidence to the 
        public to support the charges against Mr. Imamoglu;
Whereas widespread protests opposing the arrest and detention of Mr. Imamoglu 
        have erupted throughout Turkiye, constituting the largest anti-
        government protests in Turkiye since the Gezi Park protests in 2013;
Whereas numerous human rights and pro-democracy organizations and political 
        figures in Turkiye have condemned the charges against Mr. Imamoglu as 
        baseless and politically motivated;
Whereas, on March 23, 2025, the Republican People's Party, the main opposition 
        party in Turkiye, formally nominated Ekrem Imamoglu as the party's 
        candidate for president after receiving nearly 15,000,000 votes in the 
        primary election;
Whereas, on April 11, 2025, Ekrem Imamoglu appeared in court in Istanbul and 
        denied all charges brought against him;
Whereas the Government of Turkiye, under the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 
        has engaged in actions that undermine democracy and the rule of law, as 
        evidenced in the Department of State's 2023 Country Reports on Human 
        Rights Practices, which states the Government of Turkiye--

    (1) ``restricted equal competition and placed restrictions on the 
fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression''; and

    (2) ``restricted the activities of opposition political parties, 
leaders, and officials, including through police detention'';

Whereas the leadership of the Government of Turkiye has been subject to numerous 
        allegations of corruption since 2013;
Whereas May 19, 2025, marks 2 months since Ekrem Imamoglu was arbitrarily 
        detained in government custody;
Whereas, on March 19, 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen 
        called the arrest of Mayor Imamoglu ``deeply concerning'' and stated, 
        ``Turkiye must uphold the democratic values, especially the rights of 
        elected officials'';
Whereas, on March 26, 2025, Elizabeth Throssell, a spokesperson for the United 
        Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, referencing the 
        March 19, 2025, arrests of protesters by the Turkish police, that all 
        those detained ``for the legitimate exercise of their rights must be 
        released immediately and unconditionally'' and that those facing charges 
        ``should be treated with dignity'' and ``their rights to due process and 
        a fair trial, including access to a lawyer of their own choice, must be 
        fully ensured'';
Whereas, on April 9, 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
        called on the Government of Turkiye ``to release immediately Ekrem 
        Imamoglu''; and
Whereas, on May 8, 2025, Turkish authorities blocked the social media account of 
        Mayor Imamoglu, preventing him from communicating with his supporters: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls on President Erdogan and law enforcement 
        authorities in Turkiye to present any credible evidence against 
        Ekrem Imamoglu or immediately release him from detention;
            (2) urges the Government of Turkiye to uphold democratic 
        values, including free and fair elections; and
            (3) urges the Secretary of State to issue forceful and 
        timely statements and to engage diplomatically with the 
        Government of Turkiye over anti-democratic behavior.
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