PES President Sergei Stanishev said: “Lifting the immunity of democratically elected representatives of the people is one more step of the Turkish government towards silencing the opposition. It is illegal, unconstitutional and unacceptable in any functioning democracy. Today Turkey moves further than ever from EU accession and flagrantly breaking the clause on civil rights and democracy of the EU-Turkey agreement”.
The new changes in the Turkish Constitution will allow the prosecution of 46 HDP deputies and 51 CHP deputies based on weak allegations.
Stanishev said: “We know very well from past experience that the Members of Parliament have been massively targeted by Turkish prosecutors under the protection of the ruling AKP party. This law will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the ability of the MPs to criticise the government.”
PES stands by our associate parties in Turkey – CHP and HDP –, fighting for an open, democratic Turkey where civil liberties and the right to political dissent are protected.
