Turkish opposition İYİ Party submits bill to remove political ban sentence over ‘insulting’
Turkish opposition Good (İYİ) Party has submitted a bill to remove political ban sentences on charges of “insulting” from the Penal Code. The move came after a court imposed a political ban on opposition CHP’s Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on charges of "insulting" members of Turkey's High Election Board (YSK).
Duvar English
The right-wing opposition Good (İYİ) Party on late Dec. 22 submitted a bill to the Parliament to remove political ban sentences from the Turkish Penal Code.
The bill aimed to prevent imposing a political ban on politicians on charges of “insulting,” including “insulting the President.”
The move came after a court imposed a political ban on main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on charges of “insulting” members of Turkey's High Election Board (YSK).
The İYİ Party said the aim for the bill is to prevent the judiciary tutelage upon the elected people.
“In the case of Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, the decision was not accepted by the public. There are different convictions for different people due to the same actions or words,” the party said.
İYİ Party spokesperson Kürşad Zorlu said that İmamoğlu’s conviction was a “political” decision, rather than “legal.”
“I would like to emphasize that political ban is not sought to be removed. It removes political ban sentences (over the charge of) insulting,” Zorlu said during a press conference.
A Turkish court on Dec. 14 sentenced Mayor İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to two years and seven months in prison on charges of “insulting” 11 members of Turkey's High Election Board (YSK). The court also imposed a political ban on İmamoğlu, a popular rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which must be confirmed by an appeals court before application.