Parliament speaker says some MPs join several protests using immunity

Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop has claimed that some of the lawmakers join several protests by "using their parliamentary immunity."

Friday October 28 2022 01:17 pm

Duvar English

Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop on Oct. 27 claimed that some lawmakers use their parliamentary immunities in the protests and try to break preventive measures of the security forces.

Answering the questions of deputies in the parliament, Şentop said "(They) use their parliamentary immunity in the acts that praise the terrorist organizations and terrorists. Using the deputy as an element of resistance against the police is also incompatible with the reputation of the deputy."

"I see some lawmakers, using their parliamentary immunity and join several protests, breaking the preventive measures (taken against the protestors). This can never happen," he added.

With the beginning of the parliament’s new legislative year on Oct. 1, Turkey's parliament (TBMM) has received 65 summaries of proceedings seeking to have legislative immunity lifted of 34 lawmakers, including main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

The summary of proceedings are initially presented to the Parliamentary Speaker's Office and then forwarded to the Joint Constitution and Justice Committee of Parliament for review.

In order for a legal action to start against a deputy, prosecutors prepare a summary of proceedings. The proposal is then forwarded, respectively, to the Justice Ministry, the presidency and parliament. If the General Assembly of parliament votes to strip the deputy of their immunity from prosecution, they are tried by courts.

A number of HDP deputies were stripped of their statuses in the past and scores of party members, including former lawmakers, are currently imprisoned.

Imprisoned politician Semra Güzel is the latest HDP lawmaker to have her parliamentary status revoked on accusations of terrorism.