Death penalty abolished

last updated 8 January 2015

Ankara, Turkey

Turkey’s parliament passed a slew of human-rights reforms this week in an attempt to meet membership requirements for the European Union. Prison torture, the death penalty, and oppression of the Kurdish minority have been the main barriers to Turkey’s long-sought membership in the E.U. The new reform package abolishes the death penalty and gives the minority Kurds the right to use their language in schools. Turkish nationalists strongly opposed the reforms, saying they amount to a capitulation to Kurdish rebels, who have been fighting for autonomy for 15 years. Pro-E.U. and anti-E.U. forces will face off in parliamentary elections in November.