Turkish authorities have moved to remove the parliamentary immunity of main opposition leader Özgür Özel and two other lawmakers from his party, potentially opening the way for criminal proceedings against them.
According to the Birgün daily, summaries of proceedings seeking to remove the immunity of Özel, who heads the Republican People’s Party (CHP), along with party deputy chair Murat Emir and İstanbul lawmaker Yunus Emre were submitted to the Turkish Parliament.
If parliament votes to suspend their immunity, prosecutors would be allowed to pursue legal action while they remain in office. If lawmakers reject the motions, any proceedings would be postponed until the end of their terms in the legislature.
The files have been referred to a joint committee comprising members of parliament’s constitution and justice committees. A five-member subcommittee will first review the case and prepare a report before the matter returns to the full committee and eventually the general assembly for a vote.
The details of the specific accusations were not made public.
Parliamentary immunity in Turkey shields lawmakers from prosecution while they hold office, unless a majority in the assembly votes to remove that protection. The mechanism has frequently been used in politically sensitive cases, particularly involving opposition figures.
The move comes amid what the CHP calls a “judicial coup” following its sweeping victory in the March 2024 local elections.
In an October report titled “Judiciary Against the Ballot Box: The Anatomy of a Coup,” the party said 16 CHP mayors are in jail and 13 municipalities have been taken over by government-appointed trustees.
The report documents hundreds of arrests of opposition mayors and officials on corruption or terrorism-related charges, claiming that the government has turned the judiciary into a political weapon to reverse its electoral losses.
One of the most prominent figures caught up in the crackdown is İstanbul Mayor İmamoğlu, the CHP’s 2028 presidential candidate, who was arrested in March on corruption charges after his official party nomination, in a move that triggered nationwide protests.
Özel became leader of the CHP in late 2023 following the opposition’s defeat in presidential and parliamentary elections. His party, founded by modern Turkey’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, remains the largest opposition force in parliament.
It was not immediately clear when the parliamentary committees would complete their review or when the general assembly might vote on the summaries of proceedings.
