Some 1,231 motions out of a total 1,691 seeking to revoke the immunity of the members of the Turkish parliament target the members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Dokuz8 News reported on Saturday.
Motions against Kurdish MPs from the HDP, the third-largest party in the Turkish parliament, make up almost 73 percent of the applications submitted to the parliament’s Constitution and Justice Commission, according to latest figures.
However, the proportion of such motions targeting Kurdish MPs in general is still higher when the 77 separate motions against Saliha Aydeniz, a Kurdish politician representing the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), are also taken into account.
The number of motions calling for the lifting of immunity submitted to the commission reached a record high in the first half of 2022. Some 196 MPs in Turkey’s 600-seat parliament are at the risk of losing their immunity from prosecution as a result of those motions.
While 272 motions calling for the lifting of immunity target MPs from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), 14 are related to MPs from the right-wing opposition Good Party (İYİP). Sixty-eight motions seek to lift the immunity of MPs representing other opposition parties and independent MPs.
The final decision on a motion calling for the lifting of immunity is voted on by the General Assembly of the parliament, after the Joint Commission on Constitution and Justice has prepared a report in favour of the motion.
The parliamentary motions cite terrorist propaganda, resisting police, unlawful protest and other types of political activity as reasons for stripping Kurdish politicians of their legislative immunity.
Turkey launched a large-scale crackdown against Kurdish politicians, activists and journalists after a peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) broke down in 2015.
Some 4,000 HDP members including MPs have been imprisoned, and HDP mayors have been replaced by government-appointed officials as a part of Turkey’s anti-Kurdish purge.