On the side of the mayor Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu there will be mayors from Europe, including Kostas Bakoyannisin the context of the debate on “Cities: Democracy and Development”, which will take place on Wednesday evening, 28 December, at the Istanbul City Hall.

The mayors of Athens, Hannover, Paris and Florence, as well as the secretary general of the Eurocities European network, will take part in a discussion with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on the central role and cooperation of cities in matters between others. concern the defense of democracy and the rule of law. The mayors of the European cities of Linz (Austria), Budapest (Hungary), Utrecht (Netherlands) and Hamburg (Germany) will also send greetings via the Internet.

Recall that six months before the decisive presidential elections in Turkey, the mayor of Istanbul, Mr. Imamoglu, was sentenced to more than two years in prison and deprived of political rights. This decision caused a political “earthquake” both inside and outside Turkey.

After the decision was announced, Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis was one of the first to contact Mr. Imamoglu, expressing support for his European counterparts who are involved in the cities’ diplomatic networks. “A truly black day for democracy in neighboring Turkey. The decision to deprive the mayor, an ally of peace, justice and universality of freedom and civil rights, causes sadness and anger […] I am sure that the people and history will justify it,” said Mr. Bakoyannis in his post, who visited Istanbul in early November in the context of strengthening cooperation between the two cities and in preparation for the first meeting of the B40 Balkan Cities Network Summit ), which will be held in January in Athens.

Source: APE/MEB