Istanbul // Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he expected parliament to approve restoring capital punishment after the April 16 referendum on expanding his powers, a move that would end Ankara’s bid to join the EU.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its efforts to join the European Union, which makes its removal a non-negotiable precondition for membership.

“The families of the martyrs, the heroes [of the failed July 15 coup] don’t need to worry. I believe, God willing, that after the April 16 vote parliament will do the necessary concerning your demands for capital punishment,” Mr Erdogan told rally in the western city of Canakkale.

Legislation to restore capital punishment would still need to be signed by the president, and Mr Erdogan said he would do so immediately.

“When it comes to me I will approve it without hesitation,” he said.

EU officials have repeatedly warned Turkey that reinstating the death penalty would bring an end to more than 50 years of trying to join the bloc.

But Turkish ministers and Mr Erdogan have said they need to respond to popular demand for the restoration of capital punishment to deal with the ringleaders of the July 15 coup bid.

Mr Erdogan, whose announcement was greeted by loud cheers, said he did not care what Europe thought about such a move.

“What Hans and George say is not important for me,” he said. “What the people say, what the law says, that’s what is important for us.”

Mr Erdogan has repeatedly warned the EU of the possibility Turkey could restore capital punishment, but this is the first time he has directly called on parliament to approve it after the referendum on constitutional change.

Turkey and Europe are locked in diplomatic crisis after Germany and the Netherlands blocked Turkish ministers from campaigning for a “yes” vote in next month’s referendum.

Mr Erdogan has repeatedly accused Germany and the Netherlands of behaving like “Nazis”, comments that have left The Hague and Berlin aghast and prompted warnings from Brussels for the Turkish president to show moderation.

On Saturday, Germany’s foreign minister openly accused Mr Erdogan of ramping up anti-European rhetoric to score political points ahead of the referendum.

Sigmar Gabriel said Mr Erdogan’s comments were “ludicrous and absurd” but Europe should stop reacting, which only played into the Turkish leader’s hands.

“He needs an enemy for his election campaign: Turkey humiliated and the West arrogant,” Mr Gabriel told the German daily Der Spiegel.

Also on Saturday, Germany’s foreign intelligence chief dismissed the Turkish government’s claim that the US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen was the mastermind of the July 15 coup attempt.

“Turkey has tried on different levels to convince us of that fact, but they have not succeeded,” Bruno Kahl told Der Spiegel.

Turkish authorities have blamed a rogue military group led by Mr Gulen for the attempted putsch that left 248 people dead.

Mr Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, has strongly denied the accusation.

Mr Kahl said the Turkish government’s purges of suspected Gulen supporters after the coup attempt would have taken place in any case.

“What we saw following the putsch would have happened regardless, maybe not on the same scale and with such radicalism,” he said. “The putsch was just a welcome pretext.”

Turkish authorities have arrested more than 41,000 people and fired or suspended 100,000 since July, many of them teachers, police, magistrates or journalists.

* Agence France-Presse