Press Release

The Turkish anti-terror laws are an attack on democracy

The president of the Party of the European Left (EL), Pierre Laurent, has sent a letter to the European Parliament, to the European Commission as well as to the Council of Europe requesting them to act against the open legal proceedings against the EL-Vice President, Maite Mola, for having participated in a massive demonstration in Istanbul – the 21^st of February of this year – against the approval of the national security law which had been examined in the Turkish Parliament at that time.

The demonstrators protested against a law which would permit the police to apprehend and shoot anyone who would wear a mask or against anyone who would be suspected to be able to attack a public building. Also, the provisional detention period would have been prolonged up until 48 hours and the government would have increased its power to decree the state of emergency and thus creating an environment more prone to the violation of civil and human rights.

As a matter of fact, some months before the demonstration 50 persons were killed in the streets of Istanbul during different demonstrations which took place in support of the fight of the Kurdish men and women in Kobane.

Maite Mola, as well as 10 other Turkish comrades, are subjected to the legal proceeding pursuant to the Turkish anti-terror law. They are accused to have insulted the Turkish president Erdogan during the demonstration because, according to the Investigation Bureau on Terror and Organized Crimes, on a photo of Erdogan besides a shoe carton full of bank notes of foreign currencies the following was written on an accompanying sign: “You have not believed us when we said we can barely keep the millions at home.”

The law, adopted at the end of March through the absolute majority of the Erdogan-Government and his party the AKP, is a law in order to prevent all types of demonstrations against the government, like those which took place in Gezi in 2013.

The Party of the European Left strongly denounces this attack on the liberty of expression and demonstration as well as the liberty of press, in a country which aspires to become part of the European Union.

The EL-President denounces this type of dictatorial laws and urges the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the president of the Council of Europe, Donald Tusk, to publicly express the seriousness of this case, in order that all legal proceedings towards the EL-Vice President shall immediately stop.

Pierre Laurent demands as well that the European Union puts an end to the Preferential Economic Treaties with Turkey, a country which violates impunity not only to civil and human rights but also to democracy.

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Brussels, 3 November 2015

European Left (EL)

Square de Meeûs, 25

1000 Bruxelles

Martin Schulz

President of the European Parliament

Dear Mr Schulz,

I am writing to you to draw your attention to a serious attack against fundamental liberties by the Turkish Government. Maite Mola, Vice-President of the Party of the European Left (EL) is currently wanted by the anti-terrorist division of the Turkish police (Istanbul Prosecution Office, Bureau of Terror and Organized Crime) for "insulting President Erdogan". The reason given is that she participated as a member of a EL delegation in a demonstration in Istanbul in February 2015 to protest against attacks on freedom, police violence and repression of demonstrators. There are also 10 other Turks wanted for the same reasons. It seems that no normal procedures have been followed and our Vice-President was informed of these accusations by the EL member party in Turkey (ÖDP).

We naturally protest most vigorously against this intimidation and this attack on these 11 people's freedom of expression. But I am turning to the Council, the Commission and the Parliament because I feel that is essential for your institutions to speak out explicitly against a regime that is falling fast into authoritarianism and that uses police intimidation every single day. These measures are aimed not only at the Turkish people but also, and this is a first, at a top foreign leader of a European party and, through her, at the international solidarity that speaks out against these practices.

We are convinced, and we are sure that you are too, that a country that is knocking at the door of the European Union needs to adopt certain values, especially those that involve freedom of expression and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The European Union, as the region where these values were first built, cannot remain silent in the fact of these unacceptable affronts.

I hope to hear from you a public expression of the seriousness of this attack as soon as possible in order to stop any pursuit of our Vice-President immediately.

Yours sincerely

Pierre Laurent

President of the Party of the European Left