“We are being bullied immensely, but I want to let you know that we will not give up.” Those were the last words of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, when he was arrested on March 19. He adjusted his tie and was then taken to the prison where he is currently held.

Last weekend, Groenlinks-PvdA was in Ankara for the congress of İmamoğlus party, the center-left CHP (Republican Peoples Party). They are currently fighting an existential battle for the democratic future of their country. On behalf of our movement, international secretary Ties Huis in ’t Veld expressed solidarity with them.

The arrest of İmamoğlu is not an isolated incident. In recent weeks, hundreds of critical voices – from lawyers, journalists to students – have been arrested. Political opponents such as Selahattin Demirtaş and Osman Kavala have already been imprisoned. In short, little remains of the Turkish rule of law.

That Erdoğan now wants to strangle Turkish democracy is a worrying sign. With Trump in the White House, he will face no obstacles from the United States. And it has been eerily quiet from Europe so far. Given Turkey’s role within NATO, leaders prefer to look the other way at this moment.

Is this wise? Not at all. If Erdoğan continues on this path, he will definitively turn Turkey into a dictatorship; a country that does not shy away from confrontations with countries like Greece and Cyprus. Turkey will then not be part of the solution in terms of security but rather part of the problem.

That is why we stand up for democratic values:

  1. Kati Piri has submitted a motion in the House of Representatives together with D66 MP Paternotte calling on the cabinet to advocate for the immediate release of İmamoğlu in NATO context. This has been adopted. The cabinet is now on the move.
  2. Thijs Reuten urges the European Commission to take action. Both the social democratic and green groups in the European Parliament are calling on Turkey to immediately release political prisoners.
  3. Femke Halsema and Sharon Dijksma are advocating for their Turkish colleague. Together with 60 other mayors of large European cities, they have spoken out for the Turkish rule of law.

That Turkish democrats do not give up was made clear to us again this week. Every week, hundreds of thousands of citizens take to the streets to reclaim their country. Their struggle deserves our support. The least we can do is stand by them.