Human rights chief praises Turkish reform, but there’s a downside too …

Date: 22/04/04

IN THE first-ever meeting of a European Commission president and an Amnesty International secretary-general, Romano Prodi yesterday (21 April) held talks with Irène Khan in Brussels on a range of human rights issues facing the enlarging EU.

On the agenda was her recent high-level visit to Turkey in February.

"It is clear that the EU pre-accession process has been the critical factor in keeping Turkey on the road to reform - that is the message from civil society organizations there," Khan said.

However, Ankara's EU ambitions appeared to suffer a setback yesterday when the State Security Court confirmed a 15-year sentence imposed on four Kurdish MPs.

The Commission was quick to condemn the verdict, while Khan added: "Despite the progress that has been made, this shows just how much the Turkish government still has to do in putting reforms into practice."

• Primary Source

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey_en https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/turkey_en

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