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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu has appealed against the international travel ban imposed on him and the constraint imposed on his passport as part of an investigation.
Submitting the appeal to the Ankara Criminal Court of First Instance on Duty on behalf of Gergerlioğlu, lawyer Bişar Alınak has referred to the Article 83* of the Constitution, which says, "A deputy who is alleged to have committed an offense before or after election shall not be detained, interrogated, arrested or tried unless the Assembly decides otherwise."
Citing this article, lawyer Alınak has argued that all types of legal proceedings against his client would be contrary to the Constitution. "It is against the law that the prosecutor's office takes any action or conducts an investigation about this issue," the lawyer said.
Demanding that the related ban and constraint be urgently removed, the lawyer has also applied to the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) and filed a complaint against the Public Prosecutor who requested an international travel ban on Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu and the judge of the Ankara 2nd Criminal Judgeship of Peace, who has accepted this request.
*Article 83 of Turkey's ConstitutionMembers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall not be liable for their votes and statements during parliamentary proceedings, for the views they express before the Assembly, or, unless the Assembly decides otherwise, on the proposal of the Bureau for that sitting, for repeating or revealing these outside the Assembly. A deputy who is alleged to have committed an offence before or after election shall not be detained, interrogated, arrested or tried unless the Assembly decides otherwise. This provision shall not apply in cases where a member is caught in flagrante delicto requiring heavy penalty and in cases subject to Article 14 of the Constitution as long as an investigation has been initiated before the election. However, in such situations the competent authority has to notify the Grand National Assembly of Turkey of the case immediately and directly. The execution of a criminal sentence imposed on a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey either before or after his election shall be suspended until he ceases to be a member; the statute of limitations does not apply during the term of membership. Investigation and prosecution of a re-elected deputy shall be subject to the Assembly's lifting the immunity anew. Political party groups in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey shall not hold debates or take decisions regarding parliamentary immunity. |
What happened?
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was sentenced to 2 years, 6 months in prison on the charge of "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" on February 21, 2018, because of a social media post from the year 2016. The conviction was upheld by the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation on February 19, 2021.
Speaking shortly after this ruling was handed down, Gergerlioğlu said that the verdict was "political", adding, "Strip searches, abductions, tortures... Some people got disturbed by us talking about all these."
He also made an application to the Constitutional Court. However, the final ruling of the court was read out at the Plenary Session of the Parliament on March 17, 2021, and he was stripped of his MP duty. He refused to leave the parliament in protest of the decision, starting a "justice watch."
During his protest, he was detained at the parliament as part of a new investigation on March 21 and released on the same day.
Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was detained from his house on April 2, 2021; he was arrested and sent to prison shortly afterwards.
The Constitutional Court rejected an application against the revocation of his parliamentary mandate on March 31.
The Constitutional Court examined the individual application of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) dismissed Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, who was stripped of his MP status and arrested afterwards.
Giving its ruling, the Constitutional Court has concluded that Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu's "right to be elected and to engage in political activities" and "the right to personal liberty and security" have been violated.
Gergerlioğlu was released from the Sincan Prison in Ankara on July 6 and reinstated as an MP on July 16, 2021. (RT/SD)
