- On October 17, The Council of Europe called for restoring the immunity of members of parliament, which was infringed by an amendment. In its report, the Venice Commission says that the constitutional amendment of 12 April was “a misuse of the constitutional amendment procedure.” In the current situation in Turkey, parliamentary inviolability is an essential guarantee for the functioning of parliament; the current status in the Turkish Judiciary makes this the worst possible moment to abolish inviolability.
- The prosecutor of Diyarbakir’s (Amed) 7th criminal court demanded imprisonment in between 6-24 months against Selahattin Demirtash, the Co-leader of people’s Democratic Party (HDP). The ruling party in the country is accusing HDP Co- leader of “insulting the Turkish Republic government.” Several HDP deputies are facing smellier charges by the government after the removal of their parliamentarian immunities. Separately more Kurdish politicians have been arrested including the Co-mayor of Dicle district in Diyarbakir province. More via www.mesop.de