Ömer Murat*
The arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest rival in the next presidential race, signals Turkey’s alarming slide into blatant autocracy, a slide that the West seems to be viewing with troubling apathy.
On June 25, after its second fact-finding mission to Turkey, the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities issued a clarion call, echoing the Turkish opposition’s desperate plea: “Don’t give up on us.”
The delegation responded to this plea by declaring their unwavering support and condemning the pretrial detention of elected officials without charges, as well as their subsequent replacement by government-appointed trustees, branding these actions as a brazen “confiscation of the will of the people.” This bold stance from a Council of Europe body brands Turkey’s democratic status as indefensible.
Yet, on the same day, NATO, an organization that identifies as a community of shared democratic values, issued a communiqué from its Hague summit that brushed off Turkey’s authoritarian plunge, casually announcing its next summit will be hosted in Turkey under Erdoğan’s regime, apparently ignoring the rot within.
Despite NATO’s stated commitment to free elections, the rule of law and individual liberties, its members seem unbothered by Turkey’s eroded democratic institutions, deemed a “confiscation of the will of the people” by the Council of Europe, choosing to cozy up to Erdoğan as summit host without a flicker of unease. This dissonance is stark: A regime that jails its elected mayors and stifles dissent is being platformed by an alliance built on democratic ideals.
NATO’s response to Turkey’s alarming democratic backsliding raises questions about the alliance’s commitment to its stated values, suggesting a troubling prioritization of strategic interests over them. This restrained approach risks signaling to Erdoğan that he can suppress dissent without losing Western support, which could embolden him to take further autocratic measures.
Erdoğan’s campaign to reclaim lost political ground is relentless. His ruthless campaign to reclaim lost mayoral seats in last year’s elections hinges on jailing the leaders who defeated him, with waves of police raids and judicial decrees being used to do so. Journalists daring to expose this tyranny face his wrath: 25 were arrested in early 2025 alone. Meanwhile, Turkey’s press freedom ranking has plummeted to 159th out of 180 countries, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The detention of popular commentator Fatih Altaylı on June 21, just hours after Erdoğan’s senior advisor posted a threatening message on X, lays bare the regime’s paranoia. Altaylı was charged with “threatening” the president in comments in a YouTube video referencing Turkey’s history of toppling unwanted rulers. His arrest again exposes the regime’s chokehold on free speech.
Meanwhile, as İmamoğlu’s arrest sparks political chaos, Erdoğan’s regime is intensifying its crackdown on the faith-based Gülen movement, not to address genuine threats but to stifle dissent amid Turkey’s economic collapse. Vague “terrorism” charges are used to target critics, and groups like the Gülenists and Kurds are scapegoated to rally Erdoğan’s base. Human Rights Watch has noted an alarming lack of transparent evidence in numerous Gülen-related cases, suggesting that political motivations take precedence over genuine security concerns. This calculated crackdown reveals a grim truth: Dissent is being crushed under the pretext of national security to entrench Erdoğan’s rule in an increasingly divided society.
Erdoğan’s relentless arrests of perceived political opponents have pushed Turkey’s prisons to the breaking point, with a staggering 416,927 inmates and an incarceration rate of 488 people per 100,000 as of June 2, the highest among Council of Europe states. To house this surge, the regime is rushing to build 11 new prisons.
Erdoğan is laser-focused on dismantling the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) after its electoral triumph last year. A looming June 30 court ruling could annul the CHP’s 2023 congress, ousting its leader Özgür Özel and reinstating his unpopular predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a move engineered to fracture the opposition and dim the star of rising figures like İmamoğlu.
While the West grapples with its own challenges, its muted response to Erdoğan’s ruthless consolidation of power risks emboldening a regime that defies its people’s will. In a volatile region teetering on the edge, a government that suppresses opposition cannot be considered a reliable partner for stability. The West’s apparent indifference to these developments sends a worrisome signal that authoritarianism can thrive unchecked, even among Western allies.
* Ömer Murat is a political analyst and a former Turkish diplomat who currently lives in Germany.