Summary of proceedings against 29 more opposition MPs in Turkey submitted to parliament

In spring of 2016, a constitutional amendment approved at Turkey’s parliament lifted the immunity of lawmakers from prosecution.

A move that had been widely seen as an attempt of the ruling party AKP (Justice and Development Party) to oust the representatives of HDP (People’s Democratic Party) with the accusations that they had given statements in support of the Kurdish insurgency in the southeast, the new law did eventually get the two co-chairs of HDP, along with 9 MPs, jailed.

The latest summary of proceedings involves 31 lawmakers, including HDP’s jailed co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and deputy spokesperson Pervin Buldan, as well as, 7 lawmakers from CHP.

Of the 43 files recently submitted, most are against the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) MPs and the rest are against members of the main opposition CHP (Republican People’s Party).

7 MPs from CHP and 22 from HDP may face further legal action if the files against them get approval at the commission and the Parliament.

Including the most recent ones, the total number of summaries of proceedings filed against lawmakers and submitted to the parliament has now reached 246. The accusations include terror propaganda; insulting goverment officials; and, triggering hatred among public.

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/31-milletvekilinin-dokunulmazlik-dosyasi-tbmm-de-170075.html