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EU slams Turkish leader over end to parliamentary immunity

EU slams Turkish leader over end to parliamentary immunity | iNFOnews.ca
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media outside a hospital near an explosion site in Istanbul, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. A car bomb attack targeting a bus carrying riot police during rush hour traffic in Istanbul on Tuesday has killed number of people and wounded dozens others, the city's governor said. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

BRUSSELS – European Union lawmakers have slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his government’s decision to lift parliamentary immunity on opposition legislators.

Liberal German lawmaker Alexander Lambsdorff said Wednesday that the move was “contrary to European democratic values.”

Erdogan has approved constitutional amendments paving the way for potential trials of 138 parliamentarians, including several pro-Kurdish lawmakers who face terror-related charges.

Erdogan says the People’s Democratic Party is an arm of the outlawed Kurdish PKK rebel group. EU membership candidate Turkey and its Western allies consider the PKK a terrorist group.

Christian Democrat lawmaker Cristian Dan Preda said the move was questionable “not just because of the collective nature of these decisions but also because of its impact on Turkish citizens.”

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