(AGENPARL) - Roma, 24 Febbraio 2026 - (AGENPARL) – Tue 24 February 2026 Image
PRESS RELEASE
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Ref. CG010(2026)
Acquittal of Congress youth delegate: Young people must be able to make their voices heard without fear of reprisals
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is the political assembly representing local and regional governments across the 46 member States, responsible for promoting and monitoring local democracy.
Strasbourg, 24 February 2025 – “I welcome yesterday’s decision by the Ankara courts to acquit Enes Hocaoğulları, the 2025 Congress youth delegate in respect of Türkiye, of all the charges brought against him following words he spoke during a plenary debate held by the Congress in Strasbourg on 27 March 2025,” said Council of Europe Congress President Marc Cools today.
“On the basis of these charges, Enes Hocaoğulları was arrested in August 2025 and placed in detention pending trial for 35 days until his release following his first trial hearing on 8 September. The prosecution and deprivation of liberty of a Congress youth delegate based on a speech made in the Council of Europe hemicycle – the home of pan-European democratic debate – were unprecedented.
“I wish to emphasise once again today the importance of respecting freedom of expression at all times. The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly made clear that criminalising the legitimate exercise of free speech not only violates the human rights of the individual concerned but also has a chilling effect that cannot be tolerated in a democratic society.
“As I welcome Enes Hocaoğulları’s acquittal, I also stress the Congress’s strong attachment to the principle that young people throughout Europe must be able to make their voices heard, without fear of reprisals.”
Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, the Congress 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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