Members of parliament from the CDU/CSU, SPD, DIE GRÜNEN and DIE LINKE are represented in the German-Turkish Parliamentary Group. The board of the intergroup issued a statement in light of the impending ban on the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the repression against the opposition in Turkey. In the statement, the parliamentary group expressed "concern about the increasing repression and persecution of opposition and civil society in Turkey" and explicitly pointed to the "recent repression against politicians from the opposition HDP party and human rights defenders."

"Ongoing political persecution of opposition forces in Turkey"

The statement says: "The recent arrest of more than 700 people, including dozens of regional board members and local politicians of the HDP, is part of a political persecution of opposition forces in Turkey that has been going on for years. We observe with great concern that, especially since 2016, opponents of the government have been persecuted en masse. In addition to dismissals, forced transfers, and imprisonment of state employees, this includes massive restrictions on the fundamental rights of civil society actors and systematic persecution of the opposition."

"Backward steps in areas of democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and independence of the judiciary"

MPs pointed to the EU progress report, which "identified serious regressions in the areas of democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and in the independence of the judiciary." This assessment was exacerbated by the "recent persecution of opposition politicians”, they said.

"ECtHR called for release of Selahattin Demirtaş"

The Parliamentary Group describes the repression against the HDP as follows: "In the wake of the lifting of immunity of numerous HDP deputies in the Turkish Parliament in May 2016 at the instigation of President Erdoğan, the two HDP party leaders at the time, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, as well as at least 13 other HDP deputies, were arrested. On December 22, 2020, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ordered the immediate release of Selahattin Demirtaş from detention in Turkey on the grounds of, inter alia, violation of the right to freedom of expression and the right to liberty and security."

"Repression can be seen as an attempt to silence the opposition"

The parliamentary group continues, "The recent arrests, the replacement of elected mayors, politically motivated trials, as in the case of the conviction of the co-founder and co-chair of the Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD), Eren Keskin, and the motions to lift the parliamentary immunity of members of the National Assembly, such as HDP deputy and human rights activist Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, can be seen as an attempt to silence the opposition and limit the scope of civil society."

Call for the federal government to act

The executive committee of the inter-factional German-Turkish Parliamentary Group calls on the German government to "strongly advocate an end to the political persecution of the opposition and civil society vis-à-vis the Turkish government, and to work towards compliance with democratic principles and the rule of law."