Erdoğan Signs Bill Removing 152 Lawmakers’ Immunity

June 9, 2016
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (Source: AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (Source: AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

ANKARA (Hurriyet Daily News)””Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan approved a bill late June 7 that will lift lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution, paving the way to have the immunity of 152 lawmakers lifted.

The constitutional amendment was published in the Official Gazette on June 8, opening the way for the trial 152 legislators, amounting to 27.6 percent of the total number of seats in the Turkish parliament.

A total of 799 cases have been opened against lawmakers, including the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal KılıçdaroÄŸlu, and deputies from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

There are no summaries of proceedings against only four deputies out of 59 deputies in parliament elected under the HDP ticket, while there are summaries of proceedings against the leaders of all three opposition parties holding seats in the national assembly.

The HDP has, meanwhile, announced they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to stop the proceedings upon ErdoÄŸan’s approval of the law.

Critics of the bill suggest it is aimed at evicting members of the HDP, which is focused on the Kurdish issue.

“With the law having come into force, our application rights recognized within the framework of national and international legislation will be used,”

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