Justice Ministry finds ongoing imprisonment of MP ‘appropriate’ irrespective of immunity

Turkey’s Justice Ministry has stated in its belief to the Constitutional Courtroom that the ongoing imprisonment of an opposition lawmaker is appropriate irrespective of his parliamentary immunity, the T24 information web-site claimed.

Can Atalay, an opposition lawmaker from the Personnel Social gathering of Turkey (TİP), submitted a petition with Turkey’s Constitutional Courtroom final month boasting that he has been subjected to numerous legal rights violations due to his continued incarceration even with his parliamentary immunity.

Atalay’s attorneys petitioned the top courtroom on just after two legal chambers of the Supreme Court docket of Appeals rejected applications for his launch from prison.

The ministry, whose check out on the imprisonment of Atalay was sought by the Constitutional Courtroom, said it finds the Supreme Courtroom of Appeals decisions versus the lawmaker proper and that his incarceration really should carry on.

The ministry also said it does not agree with the leading court’s rulings in the previous in favor of the release of people today from prison after their election to parliament.

In their application Atalay’s lawyers claimed the 36^th and 13^th articles of the Turkish Constitution, which issue the correct to a truthful demo and the restriction of basic legal rights and freedoms, as very well as the 6^th and 17^th articles of the European Conference on Human Rights, which issue the appropriate to a good demo and a prohibition of the abuse of rights, have been violated in Atalay’s case.

The legal professionals also claimed Short article 67 of the Turkish Constitution, which worries one’s ideal to elect, stand for election and interact in political activities, has been violated.

The legal professionals requested the courtroom to acquire the important ways for the elimination of the rights violations suffered by their client and to stop his incarceration.

Atalay is a human rights lawyer who was elected to parliament from the southern province of Hatay in the May 14 elections but hasn’t been released from jail even with attaining parliamentary immunity with his seat in the legislature.

According to the Supreme Court docket of Appeals, parliamentary immunity does not deal with crimes that demand a severe punishment and could not be utilized, both, when an investigation was launched prior to the election of the jailed human being to parliament. The courtroom centered its selection on the 14^th and 83^rd articles of the Turkish Constitution.

Atalay is 1 of seven defendants sentenced to 18 several years by an İstanbul court docket in April 2022 in a trial concerning the anti-govt Gezi Park protests of 2013, which erupted about governing administration designs to demolish Gezi Park in Taksim. Just after an appellate courtroom ruled in December that the April verdict “complied with the legislation,” the defense appealed the circumstance at Turkey’s Supreme Courtroom of Appeals.