HDP Appeals to Constitutional Court for Güven, Farisoğulları Stripped of MP Status

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The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has applied to the Constitutional Court for Leyla Güven and Musa Farisoğulları and requested that the decision to strip them of their MP status be revoked.

The petition of application was submitted to the Constitutional Court by HDP Diyarbakır MP Hişyar Özsoy and Batman MP Necdet İpekyüz.

Holding a press statement at the Parliament yesterday (June 10), HDP Group Deputy Chair Saruhan Oluç has argued that stripping Güven and Farisoğulları of their MP status violates the Constitution, the Parliamentary Bylaw and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

'It is against domestic and international law'

As reported by the Mezopotamya News Agency (MA), Saruhan Oluç has stated, "As far as we can detect, the step taken last week is against the Articles 2, 10, 13, 25, 26, 67 and 83 of the Constitution. It is against the 133rd Article of the Parliamentary Bylaw."

Noting that the Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECHR have also been violated by stripping their lawmakers of their MP status, Oluç has said that they have applied to the Constitutional Court for the revoke of the decision and return of their MP status "as democratic will has been trampled upon and national and international legislation as well as Parliamentary law have been violated."

'Decisions of Gülenist judges and prosecutors'

"We said that the court verdicts against Leyla Güven and Musa Farisoğulları were handed down thanks to Gülenist judges and prosecutors, some of whom are in prison or have left the country," Oluç has noted in reference to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which is held responsible for the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Oluç has also referred to the "10 Questions to Understand July 15 Coup Attempt and Fethullah Terrorist Organization" released by the Presidency. "After Ergenekon and Sledgehammer cases, the trial against Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) has turned out to be the third case with a 'Gülenist plot'," Oluç has indicated further.

"When we revealed this, what they did was to falsify the brochure and omit KCK from there," Oluç has said. "Instead of considering these indictments and the filed lawsuits as well as the unfolding situation to be null and void and holding a trial by esteeming the rule of law, this government has taken over their legacy, it is in a position of their successor."

'Parallel constitution'

Concluding his remarks, Oluç has briefly said: "The Palace has a parallel constitution. That constitution is put into force. So, a constitution observing not the superiority of law, but the law of the superior is enforced.

"We want to make two calls to the Constitutional Court within this context: It should act in accordance with the rule of law and universal, democratic principles of law, it needs to take its steps in the light of international conventions that Turkey is a party to and the existing constitution rather than the constitution of the Palace."

What happened?

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Enis Berberoğlu and HDP Hakkari and Diyarbakır MPs Leyla Güven and Musa Farisoğulları were stripped of their MP status on June 4 on the ground that there were finalized court rulings against them.

While all three were arrested on the same day, CHP's Berberoğlu has been released and sent home as part of coronavirus measures. Leyla Güven was also released five days after her arrest on June 9.

Put on trial with Can Dündar, the former Editor-in-Chief of daily Cumhuriyet, for giving him the footage of National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks allegedly carrying weapons to Syria, Enis Berberoğlu has been sentenced to 5 years, 10 months for "disclosing information that needs to be kept confidential for the security of the state or domestic or international interests for purposes of political and military espionage."

While Diyarbakır 2nd Heavy Penal Court has sentenced Musa Farisoğulları to 9 years in prison for "membership of an armed terrorist organization", Leyla Güven has also been sentenced to 6 years, 3 months in prison on the same charge and by the same court.

The prison sentences of Berberoğlu, Farisoğulları and Güven have been upheld by the 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation.
(EMK/SD)