Overview

• Eurocities vice-president Jaume Collboni led about a dozen European mayors to the outskirts of Silivri prison in Istanbul on Thursday to back jailed mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
• The delegation was denied access to İmamoğlu and issued a joint declaration describing his detention as unjust and politically motivated.
• At Istanbul’s city hall, Eurocities presented a Special Democracy Award to İmamoğlu that was collected by his wife, Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu.
• Acting mayor Nuri Aslan said İmamoğlu has faced continuous political pressure since 2019 and called his March arrest unjust.
• Eurocities says it represents more than 200 cities and 130 million people, using municipal solidarity to press for his release and for democratic safeguards.