HDP sends immunity letter to European leaders

“Turkey’s already weak parliamentary democracy is under a new totalitarian attack,” reads the letter, accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of “virtually subordinating the Turkish judiciary to the executive by several governmental and legal interventions over the past two years.”

“A recent motion by the government to lift legislative immunity seeks to oust political opposition from the parliament. If passed, this motion would suspend Article 83 of the Constitution, which guarantees parliamentary immunity, through addition of a provisional clause. Lifting parliamentary immunity with such an anti-constitutional move would extend the Erdoğan-AKP bloc’s monopolistic grip on the legislative body,” the letter also read. 

The letter was addressed to European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Pedro Agramunt, the parliamentary group chairs of both organizations, and the parliamentary heads of several European states.