Bill on lawmakers' immunity sent to Turkish parliament

ANKARA

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party on Tuesday presented a bill to remove immunity from prosecution from nearly a quarter of lawmakers.

The proposal would amend the constitution with a temporary clause to remove protection from prosecution from 129 of the Grand National Assembly’s 550 deputies.

The targeted lawmakers, who come from all four parliamentary parties, have had a total of 562 criminal proceedings lodged against them.

The bill, which was sent to the office of the parliamentary speaker, was signed by 316 AK Party lawmakers, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The removal of immunity from prosecution has been on the political agenda for some time. The debate has previously centered on opposition lawmakers, particularly those from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who have been accused of supporting PKK terrorism.

“If you committed a crime, you will pay for it,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.