The European Union is gravely concerned about the continuing pressure against Turkey’s Peoples’ Democratic Party(HDP) and several of its members, which has materialized lately through arrests, replacing elected mayors, what seem to be politically motivated judicial proceedings and the attempt of lifting parliamentary immunities of Members of the Grand National Assembly, Peter Stano, Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement.
These developments add to Turkey’s non-implementation of the ECtHR’s ruling on the release of Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş as well as the detention of hundreds of local politicians, elected office holders and of members of the HDP on terrorism-related charges, he added.
“As a long-standing member of the Council of Europe and a candidate country, Turkey must safeguard its democratic system, including respect for human rights and the rule of law and the freedom of political association,”the Spokesperson said.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has prepared summaries of proceedings for nine lawmakers from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), seeking the lift of their legislative immunity.
The HDP lawmakers, along with 99 other defendants, are facing aggravated life sentences for having allegedly organized the deadly “Kobane protests” in Kurdish-majority cities in October 2014.
HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan, its parliamentary group deputy chairs Meral Danış-Beştaş and Saruhan Oluç, and Garo Paylan, Hüda Kaya, Sezai Temelli, Pero Dundar, Fatma Kurtulan and Serpil Kemalbay-Pekgözegü are the MPs that the investigation concerns.
