On Friday 4 May, European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that the state of emergency in Turkey could have negative consequences on the presidential elections of 24 June.
"We can only regret that the state of emergency was further extended in spite of our repeated calls for its lifting. It will certainly not help to ensure free and fair elections in June", Hahn said at a conference on press freedom in Turkey, which brought together many members of Turkish media and civil society. The state of emergency was prolonged for the seventh time, in mid-April, for three months.
Hahn spoke about the human rights situation in Turkey after the attempted coup on 15 July 2016 and the "disproportionate" response of the authorities. "It is simply unacceptable that so many journalists, human rights defenders, academics and even freely elected members of Parliament are in jail!", he summed up, adding that there was a wide-scale crackdown on the freedom of expression.
According to Hahn, there are around 500 ongoing trials against journalists. He is concerned at the "striking contrast" between the thin grounds on which the indictments are based and "the extreme severity of the sentences handed down by the courts". "Not to mention that the presumption of innocence seems not to be respected at all", he added.
Hahn said that the right to the freedom of expression can only be ensured and defended with an impartial and independent judiciary, and he added that he was deeply concerned at the erosion of the independence and impartiality of Turkish justice. According to German newspaper Die Zeit, 155 journalists who were arrested after the attempted coup are still in prison, and according to Amnesty International, 180 media have been closed since July 2016.
Hahn also said it was "crystal-clear" that to improve relations between the EU and Turkey, Turkey would have "to credibly address the serious backsliding on human rights, the rule of law, democracy and fundamental freedoms, including media freedom".
He said that the Commission had decided to focus its annual financial assistance programme for Turkey on support for human rights, civil society and EU programmes that promote contacts with Turkey at the citizens' level. "It goes without saying that we will continue our traditional assistance programmes to Turkish journalist professional organisations and NGOs committed to defend freedom of expression", he added.
The pre-accession funds for Turkey for 2018 amount to €534 million (see EUROPE 11908). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)