Turkey’s Death Penalty Debate Demonstrates Waning EU Influence

Proposals to reintroduce the death penalty in Turkey after the murder of a young woman could place it on a collision course with the European Union, while demonstrating how little hold the bloc has left over Turkey’s policy debate.

Turkish officials including the economy minister, the head of parliament’s judicial committee and the lawmaker chosen by the ruling party to rewrite the nation’s constitution all advocated the reintroduction of the death penalty in response to the murder. The debate was sparked by the discovery of the body of Ozgecan Aslan, a university student from the Mediterranean coastal city of Mersin, which led to nationwide protests about violence against women over the weekend.