Turkey launched the biggest purge of the judiciary in the country's history on Wednesday, firing and reassigning senior judges and prosecutors, despite warnings that the actions are damaging the country's accession to the European Union.
The move came as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Brussels promoting Turkey's EU membership bid to, increasingly sceptical, officials who see the sackings, and a new, controversial bill that would give the executive authority over the judiciary, as eroding the country's rule of law, a key criteria for admission.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said he had urged Mr Erdogan "not to backtrack on achievements and to assure that the judiciary is able to function without discrimination or preference, in a transparent and impartial manner". » | Ruth Sherlock | Wednesday, January 22, 2014
