House of Lords members: Review relations with Turkey

The UK politicians said that "the Turkish government violates elemental democratic and judicial norms" and asked the Foreign Secretary "to raise criticisms of these violations and to support the continuing impulse to democracy in Turkey.

10 leading members of the House of Lords and House of Commons wrote an open letter to Dominic Raab MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs about the arrest and detention of mayors elected representatives and women activists in Turkey.

The 10, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Baroness Jenny Jones, Baroness Jenny Tongue,  Lord Dholakia, Lord Hylton, Lord Rea, Lord Desai, John McDonnell MP, Chris Stephens SNP MP and Hywel Williams MP, wrote an open letter to Dominic Raab MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs about the arrest and detention of mayors elected representatives and women activists in Turkey.  

The letter reminded that "in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and with the world’s 9th highest incidence of officially recorded cases, the Turkish authorities have unrelentingly pursued their campaign of criminalising dissent. In Turkey, 102 journalists are currently in jail, accused of being ‘terrorists’ or for ‘spreading terrorist propaganda’. According to Reporters Without Borders, Turkey is the world’s biggest jailer of media professionals. Criminal law is being used to suppress political opposition and all forms of criticism."  

The letter also reminded that "in the past two months, 16 Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-mayors have been detained and four of them imprisoned. Of the 65 municipalities won by the HDP in the March 2019 local elections, 51 of them have been taken over by the state authorities and the mayors have been replaced by appointed trustees or governors. 21 elected mayors are currently imprisoned. This is the determined suppression of any manifestation of Kurdish representation."

The UK politicians also underlined how on "22 May police targeted women’s organisations, the Free Women’s Movement, the Rosa Women’s Association, along with offices of the HDP and Democratic Regions Party (DBP). Women detained were asked questions about why they supported International Women’s Day and why they were critical of the removal elected mayors."

Underlining that Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe and party to the European Convention on Human Rights and bound to the provisions and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the UK politicians said that "the Turkish government violates elemental democratic and judicial norms", and asked the Foreign Secretary "to raise criticisms of these violations and to support the continuing impulse to democracy in Turkey, at this most difficult of times. The British government must review its support for the Turkish government and denounce what are political crimes against the people of Turkey and their elected representatives."