Turkey’s Parliament Backs Bill Stripping MPs of Immunity

ANKARA, (ST)-The Turkish Parliament has passed a bill lifting its members’ immunity from prosecution.

 In a secret voting on Friday, 373 MPs in the 550-seat parliament voted in favor of the bill; a majority that allows the bill to go directly to implementation without referendum.

The measure is seen as targeting opposition parties like the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) as well as the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), media reports said.

 The Turkish opposition sees the move as aiming to expel opposition members from parliament.

The government of the Turkish regime led by Recepe Tayyib Erdogan is in the midst of a crackdown on freedom of speech and the press.

according to Reuters, Selahattin Demirtas, the leader of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said Lifting lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution is aimed at empowering the presidential palace.

He also denounced the move as a blow against the people’s will, saying it cannot be accepted as democratic and vowing to challenge it in the Constitutional Court.

On his part, Eren Erdem of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) said approving the bill was a disaster and a coup against democracy. It was an attempt to remove all obstacles facing the empowerment of the president.

Erdem is currently under investigation for alleged treason for uncovering the Turkish government’s cooperation with terrorist organizations by allowing ISIS terrorists to deliver deadly sarin gas through its territory on to Syria.

Hamda Mustafa