A European Parliament report scheduled for a vote on June 17 will urge the European Union to consider targeted human rights sanctions against Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek over his role in politically sensitive prosecutions, a lawmaker involved in preparing the text has said.
Vladimir Prebilič, a Slovenian member of the Greens/European Free Alliance and a shadow rapporteur for the report, spoke to T24 news website columnist Cansu Çamlıbel in an interview.
A shadow rapporteur represents a political group during negotiations on a European Parliament report and works with the main rapporteur on compromise language.
Prebilič said Gürlek was named because European lawmakers viewed him as a central figure in what they consider the politically motivated use of Turkey’s judiciary.
The document is the parliament’s own-initiative resolution responding to the European Commission’s 2025 report on Turkey.
It calls on EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to consider restrictive measures under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Turkish officials accused of serious and deliberate violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The draft names officials who serve as government-appointed trustees, those responsible for appointing them and Gürlek, who served as İstanbul’s chief public prosecutor before President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed him justice minister in February.
The text expresses alarm over Gürlek’s appointment and accuses him of pursuing a political agenda during his judicial career.
Gürlek’s office led investigations targeting İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and other members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The European Parliament resolution would be nonbinding, meaning its adoption would not automatically place Gürlek on an EU sanctions list.
EU sanctions decisions are adopted by the Council of the European Union, which represents the bloc’s 27 member states, following a proposal from the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs.
A person formally listed under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime is normally subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze. EU citizens and companies are also prohibited from making funds or economic resources available to the listed person.
The draft report specifically mentions freezing assets held in the EU.
Turkish lawmaker asked for Gürlek’s removal from text
Prebilič said Turkish officials had been informed that Gürlek would be named in the report.
According to Prebilič, İsmail Emrah Karayel, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker and co-chair of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, asked what Ankara could do to have Gürlek’s name removed.
Prebilič said he responded that European lawmakers could not remove the name through negotiation and that only steps taken by the Turkish government on democracy and the rule of law could change their position.
He said the proposed sanctions language had been included before a Turkish appeals court on May 21 annulled the CHP’s 2023 congress, removed Özgür Özel and reinstated former party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Prebilič said political groups later agreed to strengthen the report’s condemnation of the government following the court ruling.
MEP sees no progress under Erdoğan government
Prebilič said talks on visa liberalization and modernization of the EU-Turkey customs union would not advance unless the Turkish government changed its policies on democracy and the rule of law.
He said a majority in the European Parliament believed relations could not make progress while Erdoğan continued to govern under the current political system. He predicted that at least 60 percent of lawmakers would support the report.
Prebilič also acknowledged that the EU had tolerated democratic backsliding in Turkey because it relied on Ankara over migration, instability in Syria, the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Turkey’s role in NATO.
He said the Greens opposed formally ending Turkey’s EU accession process because far-right parties would use such a decision to argue for permanently shutting Turkey out of Europe.
Prebilič said full membership would remain difficult even under a different Turkish government, partly because Turkey’s population would alter the balance of power inside the EU. However, he said visa liberalization, the customs union and security cooperation could advance more quickly if Turkey restored democratic standards.
The report also condemns the prosecution of İmamoğlu, the cancellation of his university diploma, the use of secret witnesses and what it describes as the lack of independence from the government’s executive branch in the Council of Judges and Prosecutors.