23/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – The spokesman for the European External Action Service expressed the EU’s deep concern on Tuesday 23 February about the constant pressure exerted against the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and several of its members in Turkey, which has recently materialised in arrests, the replacement of elected mayors, “what appear to be politically motivated legal proceedings”, and the attempt to lift the parliamentary immunities of members of the Grand National Assembly. The latest example is the sentencing of MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu to two and a half years in prison for ‘propaganda for a terrorist organisation’ while sharing a report on the Kurdish conflict. “Any alleged wrongdoing or crime must be subject to due process and the presumption of innocence must be preserved”, the spokesman warned in a statement, stressing that Turkey must respect freedom of political association. (CG)