The Turkish Ministry of Justice rejected the request of European mayors, who went to Constantinople, to visit the prisoner in Silibria’s prison Mayor of Constantinople. Imamoglou.

The mayors of the Eurocities of the European and the Balkan Cities Network B40, including the Mayor of Athens Harris Dukethey went to Constantinople to express their solidarity to Imamoglou and to award him the “Special Prize for the Republic”, which was eventually received by his wife Dilek Imamoglou.

The mayor of Constantinople, in a message sent by the prison for the awards ceremony, said: “This award belongs to all citizens who are struggling for justice and freedom in Turkey and around the world and do not succumb to authoritarian pressures.”

The delegation of the mayors gathered in front of Silibria prisons, with the Mayor of Barcelona and Vice President of the Eurocities Network, we are jerking a colt, speaking on behalf of “United European Mayors to defend the Republic”. He recalled that the initiative for the visit was undertaken by the Mayor of Ghent and the president of Eurocities, Matthias de Clerk and, noting that the Eurocities network had a very clear task to develop and defend the local democracy, said that “this duty”.

“As mayors, we know that we are at the forefront. We produce specific solutions to real problems and, doing all this, we prove that democracy can work, ”he said.

He recalled that more than 80 mayors signed last March the statement condemning the arrest of Imamoglou and said: “We remind you with emphasis that the European mayors are talking in one voice. We all raise this common voice together to defend fundamental rights and democratic values. “

Sofia Mayor and President of the B40 Network, Vasil Terziev, said: “The walls and doors of these prisons are not only imprisoned by one human being, but also the will of millions of citizens who democratically elected their mayors to Constantinople.”

For his part, the mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, said: “Democracy is not imprisoned. We are here to confirm our solidarity with Ekrem Imoglou. This is not only a sign of support for his face, but also an attitude in favor of democracy, against authoritarianism. We stand by the side of Imamoglou, on the side of the people of Turkey. Together, we must continue to fight to keep hope alive and to protect the values ​​that unite us all. “

In particular, Turkey did not allow the visit to:

Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona and Vice President of Eurocities

Vasil Terziev, Mayor of Sofia and President of the Balkan Cities Network B40

Tomislav Tomašević, Mayor of Zagreb

Haris Doukas, Mayor of Athens

Dominic Fritz, Mayor Timisoara

Sharon Dijksma, Mayor of Utrecht

Gergely Szilveszter Karacsony, Mayor Budapest

Arnaud Ngatcha, Deputy Mayor of Paris

José Francisco Herrera Antonaya, General Manager of International Relationships in Madrid

André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities