On Wednesday 22 February, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) criticised the measures taken the previous day against three members of parliament from the pro-Kurdish HDP party, including both of its co-chairs.
On Tuesday, the Turkish Parliament decided to withdraw the status of parliamentarian from the co-chair of the HDP party, Figen Yüksekdağ. The same day, a court handed down a five-year prison sentence to the other co-chair, Selahattin Demirtaş, and the HDP member of parliament İdris Baluken was again arrested.
These measures "further add to the concerns expressed (...) following the Turkish Grand National Assembly's adoption last May of a law allowing the immunity of a large number of deputies to be lifted" and the detentions and arrests of several HDP members of parliament, the EEAS spokesperson stated in a press release (see EUROPE 11661). The spokesperson added that "the full and effective participation of all democratically elected political parties in the legislature is an essential element of Turkey's international commitments" – a country which has EU candidate country status.
The EEAS spokesperson said that the EU had repeatedly expressed its concern regarding "developments which can weaken the rule of law, the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and parliamentary democracy in Turkey".
On Tuesday, the EEAS spokesperson said that the EU was following the case of Deniz Yücel closely. The correspondent from German newspaper Die Welt has been in police custody for a week and is accused of being a member of a terrorist organisation. The EEAS spokesperson stated that as an EU candidate country, Turkey should aspire to higher standards and practices, including on freedom of expression and of the media.
Together with the Council of Europe, the EU continues to follow and assess the situation very closely in the framework of its comprehensive engagement with Turkey, the EEAS spokesperson warned. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)