The United States of America and the European Union were outraged by the conviction of the Mayor of Istanbul, Mers.

Ekrem Imamoglu, a member of the opposition Republican People’s Party, won the mayoral election held in March 2019 and a re-election three months later, ending the 25-year rule of the AKP and its predecessors. in the city.

The first election, which Imamoglu won by less than 1 percent, was annulled due to “irregularities” at the request of the AKP. He won re-election by about 10 percent.

And in 2020, Imamoglu said, “Those who canceled the elections are fools,” in response to a statement by the Minister of Interior, who also called him an “idiot.” Because of these comments, he was tried in 2021 for “insulting public officials”.

Imamoglu was found guilty on Thursday of insulting the country’s top election officials. If the ruling is upheld, he will lose his mayoral seat and be barred from standing in next year’s elections, while being one of the most popular opposition politicians touted as a potential joint opposition candidate.

For the US Department of State According to a statement issued on Friday Imamoglu

“His conviction is inconsistent with respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. We remain deeply concerned by the ongoing judicial harassment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey, including through prolonged pre-trial detention, all public allegations of support for terrorism and criminal defamation cases.” “.

According to them, the European Union representative in Turkey also issued a statement in this regard

“This ruling is disproportionate and indicates the systematic denial of judicial independence and undue political pressure on judges and prosecutors in Turkey. (…) Turkey must now immediately reverse the ongoing backsliding in the field of human rights and the rule of law.”

(Bianet.org)