The SYRIZA-PS MEPs describe the Commission’s response to their question about the mass pre-election imprisonments in Turkey as “delayed and lukewarm”, as the Commission responded three months later and refers to “its repeated appeals to the Turkish authorities” regarding the prosecution of dissidents.

The question submitted by the MEPs of SYRIZA-PS in April, when a few days before the crucial elections in Turkey, the Turkish authorities carried out mass arrests of more than 125 people in 21 different cities, asked the Commission questions about how it reacts to this organized operation by the Turkish authorities that led to mass arrests of journalists, lawyers and political leaders and whether it intends to make a move towards the Turkish government.

The Commission in its response, as stated in the SYRIZA statement, cites its repeated appeals to the Turkish authorities “to stop using the anti-terrorist law to arrest and detain journalists, writers, lawyers, politicians, academics and human rights defenders”.

The Commission also cites the 2022 Annual Report on Turkey, which states that “the judiciary continues to systematically target members of opposition parties in Parliament, in connection with alleged terrorism-related offences, including the People’s Democratic Party (HDP)” and that “the Commission will continue to urge Turkey to ensure that all judicial proceedings respect fundamental rights, including legal rights, in particular the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.”