Senior EU officials blamed Turkey on Thursday for arresting journalists and academics and for long-term incarceration of a Kurdish politician during a press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Gawishoglu in Ankara.
EU foreign affairs commissioner Federica Mujerini also blamed Turkey for the detention of academics and expressed hope that pro-Kurdish politician Salaheddine Dormarash would soon be released.
"Turkey must follow the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights," Mugherini said.
"There are no double standards here, we have high standards whether you like it or not," she said.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that Turkey should quickly adjudicate in the case of Dormash, the former leader of a pro-Kurdish opposition party, and said his detention on trial extended indefinitely.
While EU Commissioner for Candidate States, Johannes Han, stressed the importance of political dialogue.
But he said the bloc was concerned about the arrest of journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists.
Journalists and civil society must be able to do their important work, "said Han, who spoke alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mouloud Gawishoglu at the conference.
Han was referring to imprisoned human rights activist Osman Kavala and 15 academics detained by authorities last week as part of an investigation accusing them of trying to topple the government through mass protests in 2013.
In response, Javishoglu responded quickly to Han's comments, calling on the EU to stop defending "those involved in activities aimed at overthrowing the democratically elected Turkish government."
