EP President: Zana being Relieved of MP Duties is Illegitimate

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President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani has stated that Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP Leyla Zana being relieved of MP duties as an elected parliamentarian is “illegitimate” and “unacceptable”.

Tajani stressed that the Sakharov Award, which is granted to the ones who struggle for democracy, was granted to Zana in 1995 due to her works for the freedom of Kurds.

Stating that he is also worried about human rights violation in Turkey, the EP President said that those who are affected by these violations are the NGO members, academics and journalists who struggle for “justice and freedom”.

53 MPs left from the HDP

Leyla Zana was relieved of her MP duties last week in a voting held at the parliament.

Zana had used the term “Nation of Turkey” instead of “Turkish nation” in the oath-taking ceremony in the parliament on November 1, 2015, and the temporary chairperson of the parliament Deniz Baykal declared the oath null and void.

Zana was asked to take oath in the parliament again but Zana didn’t attend the parliament and she was relieved of MP duties due to absentia on January 11, 2018 for being absent in 212 General Assembly sessions.

With Zana being relieved of MP duties, the number of HDP MPs dropped to 53 from 59.

Former HDP Co-Chair Figen Yüksekdağ, Van MP Tuğba Hezer, Siirt MP Besime Konca, Şırnak MP Faysal Sarıyıldız and Diyarbakır MP Nursel Aydoğan were relieved of MP duties. (PT/TK)