Achilleas Dimitriadis, candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, described the life sentence of Osman Kavala by a court in Turkey as unacceptable in every respect.
In a written statement, he said that this decision has already provoked the justified reactions of the EU and the Council of Europe, noting that the ECHR has also previously requested the termination of the detention, where infringement proceedings are ongoing.
"The issue goes beyond Kavala's conviction and concerns EU-Turkey relations more broadly. Discussions have taken place between Brussels and Ankara with a view to restarting the Euro-Turkish relationship. Reference is made to a Positive Agenda focusing on the EU-Turkey Customs Union. However, a central issue in these discussions has been and remains the state of the rule of law and respect for human rights in Turkey."
The linkage, he adds, between the progress of the Euro-Turkish relationship and respect for fundamental rights is necessary. "One influences the other and progress in the respect of fundamental rights in Turkey is a top responsibility of the European Commission and the European Parliament, which must use the appropriate tools to put the EU-Turkey relationship on a different footing," he concludes.
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