217 investigations launched against 95 CHP MPs, says Group Deputy Chair Özel

* Photo: Archive - Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Group Deputy Chair Özgür Özel has shared details about the investigations and summaries of proceedings brought against the MPs of the party.

As announced by Özel, taken together with the summaries of proceedings presented to the Parliament last week, 95 MPa are faced with 217 summaries of investigations, 141 of which are for "insulting the President."

The other charges filed in these summaries are "violation of the law on meetings and demonstrations" and "insulting a public official."

"Most recently, the summaries of proceedings reportedly prepared upon the instruction of the palace's [Presidential] Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, who gets three salaries, have reached the Speaker's Office," Özel has protested. Referring to President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, he has also said:

"We are faced with summaries of proceedings because we criticize our political opponent who is also the chair of a political party and does not maintain the impartiality stipulated by the Constitution. This very fact is nothing but a restriction on the opposition's way of engaging in politics and an effort to interfere with politics by the hand of the judiciary."

'A crime designed for the President'

Other highlights from Özel's statement are as follows:

"The offense of 'insulting the President' as per the Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) was not defined in consideration of the president of this odd regime that has entered into force following the Constitutional amendment making an attempt on the regime. This article was designed with the impartial president of a parliamentary democracy in mind.

"The article 299 of the TCK governing the offense of insulting the president needs to be repealed. The figures updated a few months ago clearly show how this article is abused by Tayyip Erdoğan.

'80-fold increase in comparison with late 90s'

"In the term of 9th President Süleyman Demirel (1993-2000), 71 people were convicted as per this article. While this figure was 82 in the term of 10th President Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2000-2007), it was 233 in the time of [AKP's] 11th President Abdullah Gül (2007-2014). In the term of Tayyip Erdoğan, this number has increased to 5 thousand 683 and keeps on increasing.

"It is seen that the number of people convicted based on this article has risen by 80 times when compared to the one during Demirel's term in office. Even these numbers manifest that this legislation is abused by Erdoğan." (TP/SD)

* Source: Sözcü, Evrensel