The Parliamentary Constitution and Justice Commission passed on Thursday a report calling for two members of the opposition’s Republican People's Party (CHP) and Good Party (IP) to be stripped of their legislative immunity over allegations of “slander.”
The commission voted unanimously to ratify and forward the report to the General Assembly of Parliament on Friday’s session, said Yusuf Beyazıt, the head of the commission and a Tokat deputy for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
The deadline for the case, involving Ali Mahir Başarır of the CHP and Lütfü Türkkan of IP, was for today, March 2, and needed a resolution, Beyazıt explained.
The two lawmakers were slapped with parliamentary inquiries last year.
Başarır is facing charges of “openly insulting court judges” and “attempting to influence a fair trial” due to his intervention in a hearing at a penal court in the Yalova province while Türkkan is charged with “slander” for swearing at Tahir Gümren, the brother of a martyred soldier, during a visit to the Bingöl province on Nov. 5, 2021, with IP leader Meral Akşener.
Neither Başarır nor Türkkan was present for Thursday’s session, nor were the members of CHP, IP and People's Democratic Party (HDP), which also lost a deputy’s seat in recent months.
“Whether they will attend Friday’s session is up to them. The cases are very clear. All incidents took place within public knowledge. The General Assembly is the authority that will decide on lifting their immunity; they can present their defense there,” Beyazıt said.
Feti Yıldız, a deputy chair and Istanbul member of Parliament for AK Party’s People’s Alliance partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), also revealed Başarır failed to offer a verbal or written defense so far while Türkkan submitted an 18-page written defense.
“Türkkan acknowledges his behavior and crime but he objects to whether the recipient of his insult was the relative of a martyr,” Yıldız explained. “It doesn’t matter whether the slandered person was the relative of a martyr. Ultimately, he slandered a citizen, a human being. Moreover, it has been officially confirmed the victim in question was indeed the relative of a martyred soldier,” he said.
