One Year After Arrest, Turkish Political Consultant Remains Jailed
It’s been a year since Turkish political consultant Necati Özkan was arrested.
The longtime political operative was taken into custody last March along with more than 100 others, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a top rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in what was widely seen as a broad crackdown on the country’s political opposition.
Since then, Özkan has been held in a high-security prison on charges of corruption. Last fall, prosecutors filed separate espionage charges against him and Imamoglu.
Özkan has maintained his innocence in the face of the charges, arguing that his arrest and continued detention is nothing more than political retribution for running Imamoglu’s four winning campaigns for Istanbul mayor.
In a statement on Thursday, Marko Rakar, the president of the International Association of Political Consultants echoed Özkan’s claims, arguing that the Turkish consultant’s case “goes beyond an individual.” Rather, he said, “it speaks to the space in which democratic professionals are allowed to operate.”
“Advising candidates, shaping campaigns, and enabling citizens to engage in the electoral process are not crimes – they are essential functions of a democratic system,” Rakar said. “His continued detention raises serious concerns about the protection of these principles.”
In an effort to rally international support for her father, Özkan’s daughter Selin Özkan is preparing to launch a new group called the Global Alliance for Political Consultants. In an interview with Campaigns & Elections last month, Selin Özkan said that political professionals have a responsibility to advocate for their colleagues internationally.
“We have to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone – that we should protect each other and protect the rights of our colleagues to do their profession freely and ethically,” she said.
Özkan’s corruption trial began this month. A separate trial on the espionage charges is set for May.
