Doodstraf in Turkije (en) - Hoofdinhoud

Please find below the statement I made for the Turkish press with regard to the recent discussion initiated by Prime Minister Erdogan in Turkey about the reinstatement of the death penalty.

"Abolition of the death penalty is one of the key aspects of the EU Charter of Fundamental rights. The European Union can never accept the reinstatement of the death penalty in any Member State, Candidate Member State or Potential Candidate state. I expect Turkey to respect its international commitments as a member of the Council of Europe and as a signatory state to the European Convention of Human Rights. Moreover, I count on Prime Minister Erdogan to rely on his own judgements of the past 10 years in which the Turkish Government, under his leadership, has abolished the death penalty"

This will also be one of the topics of discussion during my working visit to Turkey at the end of this week. I will travel to Turkey tomorrow to prepare for the European Parliament resolution on the Turkey progress reportt, and will have meetings there with a.o. Deputy Prime Minister Babacan, Minister of Justice Ergin, political leaders of the 4 parties represented in Turkish Grand National Assembly and representatives of civil society. I will also participate in a panel discussion with Minister of European Affairs Bagis during the Atlantic Council Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul on thursday.