Legislative proposal by CHP: ‘Cancel COVID-19 fines’

* Photo: AA

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Zeynel Emre, the İstanbul MP of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has raised concerns that there are double standards in enforcing the COVID-19 bans and measures and submitted a legislative proposal foreseeing that the administrative fines imposed in this period be cancelled and the ones already paid by people be paid back.

In his legislative proposal presented to the Parliamentary Speaker's Office, CHP's Emre has requested that an provisional article be added to the Law on Public Health, which is cited as the legal ground based on which citizens are fined for violating COVID-19 measures and bans.

In the event that Emre's legislative proposal is passed into law, the fines imposed on people for violating mask and social distancing rules from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 will be cancelled as public receivables.

'Constitutional rights are violated'

Underlining that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has failed in struggling against the pandemic both socioeconomically and legally, CHP's Zeynel Emre has specifically referred to the AKP congresses, which AKP Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been boasting of, defining them as "jam-packed" despite the pandemic measures.

MP Emre has said, "On the one side, there are the decision-makers who boast of holding jam-packed congresses, almost making a special effort to spread the COVID-19 outbreak, and their political base who violate all sorts of bans with impunity; on the other side, there are tens of thousands of citizens who are punished with their Constitutional rights violated."

Emre has noted that "this practice is yet another indication of the dual legal system, which the AKP government has long been paving the way for."

'Trust in the state is undermined'

Zeynel Emre has further raised concerns that such practices undermine people's trust in the state. Accordingly, the MP has requested the cancellation of the fines imposed on people due to COVID-19 restrictions "so that the ongoing unlawful practices of the AKP government will not inflict any more damage and people's trust in the state can be reestablished."

Requesting the refund of the already-paid fines as well, main opposition MP Emre has noted that this can be done by adding a provisional article to the Law no. 2593 on Public Health. (RT/SD)