[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 214 (Thursday, December 18, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H6099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  URGING THE RELEASE OF EKREM IMAMOGLU

  (Mr. RASKIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, many of us in Congress are calling for the 
immediate release of Mr. Ekrem Imamoglu, who is the mayor of Istanbul, 
Turkiye.
  Istanbul is Turkiye's largest city. It is one of the world's great 
cities where 16 million people live and stand strong for democracy. 
They elected Mr. Imamoglu as their mayor three different times, and he 
is focused on improving public infrastructure and serving nutrition and 
health to the millions of kids who live in that city.
  He was detained in March 2025, along with 106 other leaders in 
Istanbul. The Turkish Government has now seized his family business, 
suspended his Twitter account, revoked his college diploma, and banned 
any public images or posters of him.
  I want to tell Mayor Imamoglu that he has many people in the United 
States Congress closely following this outrage against democracy and 
the rule of law. We are wishing his family happy holidays, and we are 
working and demanding to see that he be released.

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