(AGENPARL) – Wed 06 August 2025 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG048(2025)
Council of Europe Congress President calls for the immediate release of the Congress youth delegate arrested in Türkiye
“The arrest and charges in question, based on words spoken by a Congress youth delegate during a plenary sitting of the Congress, flout the fundamental right to free expression – a cornerstone of democracy in Europe and one of the core rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights which Türkiye is committed to respect as a member state of the Council of Europe. They also amount to unacceptable, direct reprisals against an individual for their legitimate participation in the work of the Council of Europe,” he said.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is an institution of the Council of Europe, responsible for strengthening local and regional democracy in its 46 member states. Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, it brings together 612 elected officials representing more than 130 000 local and regional authorities.
President of the Congress: Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Bernd Vöhringer (Germany, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions: Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD).
Political groups: Group of Socialists, Greens and Progressive Democrats (SOC/G/PD), Group of the European Peoples Party (EPP/CCE), Independent Liberal and Democratic Group (ILDG), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).
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Council of Europe/Conseil de l’Europe, Avenue de l’Europe, Strasbourg, . 67000 France