The report also said it had worries about the political ambitions of Erdogan, Turkey’s most popular politician who is now president after a decade as prime minister, and is widely seen as wanted to turn the presidency into a powerful, U.S.-style executive.
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The report also said that there is “significant backsliding in the areas of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly”, instead of relating more to the European standards on democratic principles, while the country’s efforts in tackling widespread corruption was “inadequate”.
It highlighted criminal cases against journalists and writers, intimidation of media outlets and changes to internet law.
The report noted people are jailed for insulting the president.
After an Istanbul prosecutor was taken hostage and killed earlier this year, the image of the victim, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, was banned. It cited the government’s “policy of war” and “ongoing attacks” for the halt. After Twitter removed the content, the block was lifted.
Four police officers were seriously injured in the attack and three of them died in the hospital, added the same source. The company denies the claims.
The harsh report had been expected to be released in October but was held back until after the elections, in which Erdoğan’s AKP stormed back to a majority.
But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said that he does not expect any new countries to join the bloc before 2019.
Turkey itself commemorated the death of the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which is remembered with a minute’s silence as well as official memorial events.
Brussels however praised Turkey for housing Syrian refugees and for co-operating on the migration crisis. The European Union is now discussing a plan with Ankara to reduce the influx of refugees from Syria to Europe and offering it a package, including an aid of 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion). We mustn’t become completely dependent on Erdogan.
On Wednesday, a soldier was killed in a clash with Kurdish militants in the town of Silvan, in Diyarbakir province, where authorities have enforced a curfew for the past nine days, the military said.
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The renewed fighting between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and Turkey’s security forces have killed hundreds of people since July and derailed a fragile peace process.
