A European Parliament report set for a vote on June 17, 2026 calls on the EU to consider targeted human rights sanctions against Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek over his role in politically sensitive prosecutions, including investigations targeting İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and other opposition figures from the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Drafted as the parliament’s own-initiative resolution responding to the European Commission’s 2025 report on Turkey, the text urges EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to weigh restrictive measures—such as travel bans and asset freezes—under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Gürlek and government-appointed trustees. According to Slovenian MEP Vladimir Prebilič, a shadow rapporteur on the report, the resolution would be nonbinding, meaning it would not automatically place Gürlek on a sanctions list, since such decisions rest with the Council of the European Union. Prebilič said European lawmakers rejected Turkish requests to remove Gürlek’s name, maintaining that only genuine reforms on democracy and the rule of law could change their stance, and noted that progress on visa liberalization and the customs union remains stalled while the current Turkish government holds power.

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