Hatice Kesgin
June 10, 2016•Update: June 11, 2016
By Kemal Karadag
ANKARA
Turkish Justice Ministry has sent 117 cases involving 57 lawmakers to public prosecutors, who may open probes against them, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag announced Friday.
The cases had been sent to prosecutors after the Turkish president agreed to lift the immunity from prosecution of 152 deputies who face 799 charges.
In remarks made to the state television TRT, Bozdag said: “The 117 cases had already existed in the [Turkish Justice] Ministry even before the new judicial process [to lift immunities of lawmakers began]. However, we did not send them to prosecutors until yesterday [Thursday].”
According to Bozdag, 152 deputies in the 550-seat Grand National Assembly could be liable for prosecution after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ratified constitutional amendments to allow lawmakers with criminal cases lodged against them to be tried.
Among the 152 deputies facing charges, 57 are from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) , 55 from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), 10 from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and 29 from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. An independent deputy also faces charges.
The 799 charges faced by the parliamentarians fall into three broad groups of offences, including insulting the Turkish president, supporting terrorism and corruption, and other crimes.
The HDP and CHP deputies face 511 and 211 charges respectively. AK Party deputies face 50 allegations while MHP members are charged with 23 offenses. Independent Aylin Nazliaka faces five claims, including an allegation made jointly against her and a CHP deputy.
*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Hatice Kesgin also contributed to this story.
