Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the state of democracy and human rights in Turkey and the state of emergency that allows President Erdogan to rule by decree, which is to be continued indefinitely; his further views on the fact that these powers have to date allowed the Turkish Government to jail more than 40,000 persons, fire or suspend more than 140,000 persons, shut down circa 1,500 civil groups, arrest at least 120 journalists and more than 150 news media outlets; and his further views on the health and well-being of the Peoples' Democratic Party Members of Parliament that remain in jail in Turkey. [25636/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I have consistently raised my concerns about recent negative developments in Turkey and called on the Turkish authorities to uphold core European values of democracy, human rights, respect for rule of law and freedom of expression, including media freedom, as well as the rights of minorities and other fundamental freedoms. Turkey was the main topic of discussion at the Gymnich on 28 April, where I, along with other EU Foreign Ministers, expressed my deep concern at the situation in Turkey. We agreed that it is important to keep the lines of communication open with Turkey and that our engagement must be open and frank.

The State of Emergency has been renewed three times since it was first imposed on 20 July in the immediate aftermath of the attempted coup last year. I have called for the measures taken under the State of Emergency to be proportionate and urged the Turkish authorities to revert to ordinary procedures and safeguards as soon as possible and return to a sense of normalcy. Although the attempted coup was an attack on democracy, and we cannot underestimate the impact that this and terrorist attacks have had on Turkey, the fundamental rights of citizens must be respected, whatever the level of threat.

The scale of detentions and dismissals of public servants, including teachers, civil servants, judges and academics, as well as the ongoing media crackdown, is a cause of grave concern and was highlighted by the Amnesty report, ‘No end in sight: Purged public sector workers denied a future in Turkey’published on 22 May. People have been dismissed or detained due to their alleged association with the Gulenist movement, which President Erdoðan blames for masterminding the coup, or, in many cases, given no reason for their removal from office. I fully agree that a fair and swift appeals procedure must be established to allow those dismissed to have their cases heard.

I have repeatedly voiced my serious concerns about the impact of the deteriorating situation on the lives of the Kurdish population in Turkey. I have called for the rights of all minorities in Turkey, including the Kurdish minority, to be respected. Late last year, the two co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish HDP and other members of the Turkish parliament were arrested – I made a statement on 4 November highlighting that this was a very worrying development and had a negative impact on democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law.

My officials met with Mr Faysal Sarýyýldýz, an MP in the pro-Kurdish HDP party on 18 May, when he raised, inter alia, the case of his imprisoned colleagues. It is my understanding that eleven HDP MPs are still in custody, while four have been released on bail.

I have previously expressed my concerns at the conditions of all those in detention in Turkey and repeat that it is critically important that the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial are respected.