An op-ed by imprisoned Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was on March 28 published by The New York Times. The politician, officially made the main opposition’s challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since he was detained nine days ago, is incarcerated in the infamous Silivri Prison outside Istanbul, where the Turkish regime holds political prisoners.

“Early in the morning on March 19, dozens of armed police officers showed up at my door with a detention order. The scene resembled the capture of a terrorist, not of the elected mayor of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city,” Imamoglu writes.

“From the implausible to the absurd, each charge has been part of a broader effort to wear me down,” he also observes.

“Realizing he cannot defeat me at the ballot box”

“Realizing he cannot defeat me at the ballot box, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resorted to other means: having his main political opponent arrested,” says Imamoglu, whose duties as mayor have been stripped from him by the interior ministry.

Imamoglu has run against candidates handpicked by Erdogan three times in Istanbul polls, twice in 2019 and once last year. Erdogan personally campaigned against him. But each time, Imamoglu won. Unable to defeat him in elections, Erdogan is using his grip on the judiciary to sideline a challenger.

“Manipulated elections”

For years, Erdogan’s regime has silenced the media, replaced elected opposition mayors with bureaucrats, sidelined the legislature, controlled the judiciary and manipulated elections, according to the mayor.

Votes can be nullified and freedoms can be stripped away in an instant, he cautioned.

15mn back Imamoglu as challenger

Despite the regime going after its sole nominee, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) on March 23 successfully held its presidential primary. The party’s ballot box tally showed that 15mn people, of whom only 1.7mn were registered party members, cast their vote for Imamoglu to become the CHP presidential candidate.

“Deafening silence”

Social democratic leaders and mayors across Turkey and beyond, from Amsterdam to Zagreb, have demonstrated their support, with courage and principle, for the politician since his arrest, writes Imamoglu.

Civil society, too, he says, has not wavered.

“But central governments around the world? Their silence is deafening. Washington merely expressed ‘concerns regarding recent arrests and protests’ in Turkey. With few exceptions, European leaders have failed to offer a strong response,” Imamoglu notes.

“Realpolitik”

What is happening in Turkey and many other parts of the world demonstrates that democracy, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms cannot survive in silence, nor be sacrificed for diplomatic convenience disguised as “realpolitik”, according to Imamoglu.

“Geopolitics should not blind us to the erosion of values, particularly human rights violations. Otherwise, we legitimize those who are dismantling the global rules-based order piece by piece,” he adds.

The survival of democracy in Turkey is crucial not just for its own people but also for the future of democracy worldwide, says the mayor.

The age of the unchecked strongmen demands that those who believe in democracy be just as vocal, forceful and unrelenting as their opponents, he contends.

“Democracy’s fate depends on the courage of those who refuse to remain silent when institutions crumble,” the jailed mayor concludes from his prison cell.