Alwaght- Turkish government has called on the country's parliament to lift the legislative immunity of leaders of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) so they can face charges of "openly instigating people to hatred and hostility" and "being a member of an armed terrorist organization".
State-run Anadolu Agency cited Parliamentary sources as saying that the Prime Ministry Office submitted a motion to lift the parliamentary immunity of HDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag and of party deputies Selma Irmak, Sirri Sureyya Onder, and Ertugrul Kurkcu.
The Ministry of Justice sent a related summary of proceedings on Friday, the Turkish agency reported, adding the office of the parliament speaker then forwarded the motion to the joint parliamentary commission on constitution and justice, which will decide whether the general assembly should vote on lifting the immunity.
Turkish government accuse five HDP deputes of declaring autonomy during a December meeting of a group affiliated with the party in southeastern Turkey.
"Last December, in a meeting in Diyarbakır, Demirtaş said his party would support calls for the formation of democratic autonomous regions in Turkey's southeast," Anadolu Agency claimed
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had previously broached the idea of lifting the immunity of HDP parliamentarians due to the party's alleged support for terrorism.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has on various occasions claimed that HDP is an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which Turkey deems as a terrorist group.
Referring to the HDP’s last year election success Demirtas told reporters earlier in the week that, "Erdogan is personally angry with us, especially me and a few other friends. He is...driven by feelings of revenge."
