Germany: Turkey’s EU bid canceled if it revives death penalty

18 July 2016, 1:51 pm

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Germany says negotiations for Turkey to join the European Union would end if the Turkish government decides to revive the death penalty following a failed coup.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin Monday that the EU is a “community of values, therefore the institution of the death penalty can only mean that such a country could not be a member.”

For the moment, he says that Germany and other EU countries are watching the internal Turkish debate on whether to institute the death penalty, but that the EU’s position is clear.

“We categorically reject the death penalty and an institution of the death penalty would mean an end to the negotiations to join the EU,” he said.

— AP