The EU is extremely concerned about the detention of the Turkish academics who signed a declaration, denouncing Ankara's military actions against the Kurdish military units, the statement by the EU External Action, disseminated in Brussels on Saturday says.
“The steps taken against the Turkish academics who signed a declaration regarding events in the Southeast of Turkey are an extremely worrying development,” it reads.
The document also mentions that the “Freedom of expression must be upheld, in line with the Copenhagen political criteria; an intimidating climate goes against this,” TASS reports.
“We expect Turkey ensures that its legislation is implemented in a manner which is in line with European standards enshrined in the European Convention for Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. The EU reiterates its strong belief that the Kurdish peace process remains the only way to solve a conflict that continues to claim far too many lives, and remains ready to support all efforts in this direction,” the statement concludes.
Earlier, the Turkish authorities had issued arrest warrants for 21 academics after 1.1 thousand representatives of 89 universities signed a document on finding a political solution to the Kurdish issue.
