This was seen as a warning both domestically and internationally, with Turkey facing growing disquiet from allies like the USA and European Union, particularly over the death penalty plans, and that they aren’t going to be warned away from their current course of action.
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“Reintroduction of the death penalty would prevent successful negotiations to join the EU”, Steinmeier said.
Turkey will not be able to join the European Union if it reintroduces the death penalty, a senior EU official said Monday.
The leader of the Christian Democratic Group in the European Parliament has called on Turkey to defend democracy and the rule of law in the wake of the failed coup.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz came out against the announcement by the Turkish president and the Turkish government’s move to arrest thousands of members of the Turkish judiciary in the aftermath of the coup saying: “The 6,000 arrests with 3,000 members of the judiciary in our view is absolutely unacceptable”.
After Erdogan said Sunday that Turkey would consider a return of capital punishment, Seibert said such a move “would mean the end of European Union membership talks”.
“The EU-Turkey refugee agreement is, for now, to be seen separately from the weekend’s events”, Mr. Seibert said.
“We are categorically against the death penalty”.
“The chancellor also urged the president to abide by the principles of proportionality and rule of law in the Turkish state’s response (to the coup attempt)”, she added.
Erdogan and the Turkish government have accused the USA -based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, of orchestrating the coup.
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Germany has the largest ethnic Turkish community outside Turkey with some three million members.
