Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved a bill late June 7 that will lift lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution, paving the way to have the immunities of a score of lawmakers lifted, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
The related 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.
A total of 799 cases have been opened against lawmakers, including the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, 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 Erdoğan’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.