Angela Merkel rules out Turkish vote on death penalty in Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out any participation on German soil in a potential Turkish referendum about bringing back the death penalty.

She said Berlin would not make it possible for the 1.4 million Turkish voters living in Germany to participate if the referendum were to be held, the AFP reported.

"We will not give permission for something we are not obligated to do, and whose content we absolutely reject, for example, the death penalty," Merkel told public broadcaster WDR.

Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2004 as a key pillar of its bid to join the EU.