Swedish Social Democrat Workers Party (SAP) European deputies strongly reacted to the ten years imprisonment sentence given to independent MP Leyla Zana on charges of “committing crime on behalf of an illegal organization despite not being a member of it” and “making propaganda for an illegal organization”. Swedish deputies brought up the subject on the Parliament’s agenda and called on the European Union to express its concern to Turkey.

In a press statement on the prison sentence imposed on Zana for nine separate speeches she made in 2007-2008, Swedish deputies urged European Union to condemn the sentence and to make demands on Turkey to assure basic rights and freedoms.

SAP deputy Carin Runesson evaluated the prison sentence as unacceptable, underlining that Leyla Zana has given effort for many years for the purpose of ensuring peaceful ways to the conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurdish people.  

SAP former Secretary General Marita Ulvskog stated that they called on the representative of the European Union for foreign affairs, Catherine Ashton, to protest the sentence passed on Leyla Zana.

Göran Färm, member of the European Parliament said “It is regrettable that the freedom of expression isn’t being assured by Turkey which is supposed to change its attitude in order to be a member of the EU.”