Report on HDP's Semra Güzel submitted to General Assembly of the Parliament

* Photo: HDP

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakır MP Semra Güzel faces two summaries of proceedings seeking to lift her immunity over the allegation of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization."

Having prepared a report in favor of lifting the MP's legislative immunity, the Parliamentary Joint Commission on Constitution and Justice has referred the report to the General Assembly of the Parliament.

The report has indicated that it has "serious and detailed findings and information shared by the anonymous witness regarding the offense charged against Güzel." It has noted that "legislative immunity is not a privilege or favor bestowed upon Members of the Parliament."

The report of the commission has further indicated that "it will be for the benefit of both the Parliament and the position of deputyship if the allegations [against Güzel] are investigated by independent and impartial bodies of the judiciary and the material fact is brought to light."

The report has recalled that in the vote taken at the Joint Commission, the majority of the members voted in favor of lifting Güzel's legislative immunity "in order to ensure the continuation of the trial with regards to the investigation file and to bring the material fact to light."

Dissenting opinion in the report

The dissenting opinion attached to the report has argued that there is no reason necessitating the immediate lifting of Semra Güzel's immunity:

"It cannot be associated with justice or righteousness that a person is faced with the charge of organization membership and a request for lifting her legislative immunity if she is a Member of the Parliament just because she has a picture with [the members of] the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) without considering the purpose ot the visit.

"There were other people who were not members of the PKK, but visited the PKK camps for different purposes at different dates before and no investigations were launched against these people, which shows that the act has been so far defined as a crime or not depending on the purpose of the visit, not solely because a person went to the PKK camps."

How does the process proceed?

According to the related regulation, a report issued by the Parliamentary Joint Commission on Constitution and Justice and foreseeing the lifting of a legislative immunity is referred to the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). The report is distributed to the MPs and read out and debated at the General Assembly of the Parliament.

Two MPs, one for and one against, make a speech about the report. As for the MP facing a summary of proceedings seeking to lift her legislative immunity, she can make her own defense at the Drafting Commission, Joint Commission or the General Assembly of the Parliament or shall pass this right on to another MP so that she or he can make defense on her behalf.

If there are no requests for speaking or making defense, the talks are brought to an end. Afterwards, the report is taken to open vote. The quorum of decision (151 votes) is enough to lift the immunity.

What happened?

The pictures of HDP Diyarbakır MP Semra Güzel with Volkan Bora, who was killed in an airstrike of the Turkish Armed Forces in 2017, have recently been revealed. Semra Güzel has said that Bora was his "fiance" and the picture was "taken during the resolution process".

After the pictures were published and broadcasted by pro-government media outlets, AKP Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "We have swiftly sent this to the joint commission. The necessary will be done. We don't want to see such people at the Parliament."

Saying that she was not affiliated with any political party when the pictures were taken, Güzel has asked why no investigation has been launched so far into the pictures found on Volkan Bora. She has argued that the pictures taken 5 years ago are used as a "plot" against her.

A summary of proceedings has been issued against Güzel to lift her legislative immunity and sent to the Joint Parliamentary Commission.

Before the Joint Commission convened on January 20, 2022, İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener and main opposition CHP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair Özgür Özel announced that they would vote in favor of the summary of proceedings against Semra Güzel.

The Drafting Commission, a sub-commission of the Parliamentary Joint Commission established to review the summaries of proceedings against Semra Güzel, has issued a report and expressed an opinion in favor of lifting the legislative immunity of the HDP MP. (RT/SD)