The Council of Europe has warned that Turkish moves to "politicize" the judiciary would weaken trust in the entire state and jeopardize democracy in the aspiring EU member state.
The comments by Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, come amid a new purge of top prosecutors and a government push to tighten its grip on Turkey's top judicial body.
"Curtailing the independence of the judiciary would be a threat to it and would weaken public trust not only in the judiciary but in the state as a whole," he told AFP in an interview Thursday.
"Pressure exerted on the judiciary would be a danger for Turkey's democratic fabric, no matter what motivates it."
The proposed judicial reforms are being debated with the country in deep political turmoil after a corruption probe last month targeted top political and business figures in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle.
The government has embarked on a series of retaliatory measures against the police, prosecution service and the judiciary which he believes is using the investigation to undermine him.
Erdogan, still the most popular leader in Turkey after almost 11 years in power, accuses supporters of Fethullah Gulen - a moderate Islamic cleric exiled in the United States - of waging a "coup plot" ahead of key March local elections.
But his actions have raised concerns both at home and abroad, particularly in the European Union which Turkey has long sought to join.
"I think that for Turkey to remain in compliance with human rights standards, it is necessary to reinforce judicial independence and impartiality, not to curtail it," Muiznieks said.
"Any step taken by a politicized judiciary would be suspicious," said the commissioner, whose international organization promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
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