ISTANBUL – Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, whose name was proposed to be included on the sanctions list in the draft Turkey report to be voted on at the European Parliament on June 17, described this move as an "ideological prejudice." Gürlek stated, "What matters most to us is the conscience of our noble nation and the decisions of independent Turkish courts." This summary was prepared by artificial intelligence and reviewed by an editor.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek criticized the draft text of the European Parliament's (EP) Turkey report. The draft prepared by European Parliamentarian Vladimir Prebilic from the Greens/EFA group directly names Gürlek and proposes sanctions against him, including freezing his assets in the EU. The report will be voted on at the EP plenary session on June 17.
Gürlek described the initiative as a "politically motivated approach" and said: "Distorting ongoing judicial processes in Turkey and conducting a political campaign based on cases still under investigation; making baseless accusations against the Turkish judiciary and myself can only be explained by ideological prejudices.
"The Republic of Turkey is a democratic constitutional state with a deep-rooted state tradition, independent and sovereign. The Turkish judiciary makes its decisions within the framework of the constitution, laws, and the judicial authority vested in it on behalf of our nation.
Ongoing judicial processes in Turkey… Questioning the binding nature of EP reports Justice Minister Gürlek emphasized that EP reports are advisory and argued that targeting Turkey based on these texts is a "futile effort."
Gürlek said, "European Parliament reports are political texts of advisory nature; targeting the judicial institutions of the Republic of Turkey through these texts is a futile effort aimed at the national will and the sovereign rights of our state."
Emphasizing again that the Turkish judiciary makes decisions within the constitution and laws, Gürlek added, "What matters most to us is the conscience of our noble nation and the decisions of independent Turkish courts." Gürlek also directly targeted Prebilic, who prepared the proposal.
Claiming that the parliamentarian "has been a subject of debate on various issues from his municipal period to election campaigns," Gürlek warned Prebilic to "look into discussions about transparency, ethics, and accountability regarding his own career."
Prebilic had described Gürlek as the "main actor" Prebilic explained the direct inclusion of Gürlek’s name in the text as follows: "We see him as the main actor in these politically motivated prosecutions." Prebilic’s proposal also includes freezing assets in the EU. Gürlek argued that such steps target Turkey’s judicial institutions and the sovereign rights of the state.
Gürlek said, "Turkey continues its determined fight against terrorism, organized crime, corruption, and all forms of illegality; this struggle cannot be disrupted by political pressure campaigns conducted either internally or externally." Gürlek also stressed that no one should harbor the illusion that the judiciary of the Republic of Turkey can be "subjected to pressure or guardianship."
