Remarks by Slovenian member of European Parliament Vladimir Prebilic regarding possible sanctions by the EU against Justice Minister Akın Gürlek drew the ire of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The party’s spokesperson, Ömer Çelik, accused Prebilic of "political backwardness” and acting like "a colonial commissioner.” In remarks to Turkish journalist Cansu Çamlıbel published online on June 12, Prebilic said they would suggest including Gürlek in a sanctions list of the European Union, citing Gürlek’s former tenure as a chief prosecutor in corruption investigations against opposition-run municipalities.

Gürlek himself responded to the remarks on Saturday through a social media post and said European Parliament reports where his name may be included were "political texts about recommendations” and "targeting Türkiye’s judiciary over such texts is a futile attempt against national will and our country’s sovereignty.” Gürlek vowed Türkiye’s fight against corruption and other crimes would not be derailed by campaigns of political pressure and "nobody should think that they could exert pressure on the judiciary of Republic of Türkiye.”

On Sunday, Çelik said in a social media post that it was a "political shame” for Prebilic to speak "like a colonial commissioner.”

”Nobody has a right to target our justice minister with such a disrespectful rhetoric,” he said.

Çelik, a former minister of European Union affairs, said the European Parliament "used to be a school for politics and human rights in the past.”

"Now, its reputation is eroding because of some unqualified politicians engaged in biased political lobbying. It is known that past reports by the parliaments have been built upon addressing to certain political circles rather than reflecting the reality and paving the way for dialogue. We attach importance to dialogue but we cannot allow disrespect to Türkiye’s sovereignty rights,” he said.

Çelik stated that the European Parliament should first mend its image on basic humanitarian issues, "such as failing to be on the right side of history on Gaza.”

"If they want to utilize their ‘sanctions’ instrument in a reputable manner, they may consider exerting them on European politicians supporting crimes of genocides committed by Zionists in Gaza,” Çelik also said.