Parliament Speaker's Office

Turkish parliament speaker Mustafa Şentop submitted a request in writing to the Interior Ministry on May 27 for the identity disclosure of a lawmaker allegedly receiving a sizable monthly paycheque from an organized crime leader, according to daily Milliyet.

The summaries of proceedings against 10 deputies, including main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, were submitted to the Parliament Speaker's Office on April 14.

Eight of these lawmakers are from the CHP and two others are from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman has rejected a proposal submitted by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) regarding the formation of a special commission to investigate human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. 

The jailed co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş, and party deputy Abdullah Zeydan have submitted fresh petitions to the Parliament Speaker's Office and the Justice Ministry, demanding an end to handcuffing during their transfers to courts and hospitals. 

The Parliament Speaker's Office has refused to respond to a question registered by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) regarding an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) video showing two Turkish soldiers being burned to death. 

Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman was taken back to an intensive care unit at hospital in the Turkish capital Ankara on Jan. 9 after undergoing an operation.

The Parliament Speaker's Office has issued a statement, saying Kahraman was struggling with an infection following a medical examination.

A few hours after Turkey's European Union Affairs Minister Volkan Bozk?r said the government could fulfil all necessary benchmarks by May 2 for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens within the EU, the parliament in Ankara had to take a two-day recess due to escalating tension among deputies.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has insisted that a provisional change allowing parliament to lift the legislative immunity of some MPs complies with the constitution, rejecting claims to the contrary by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Recent media reports that revealed that Turkish intelligence units were tipped off about imminent suicide bomb attacks targeting rallies 25 days before Oct. 10, 2015, blasts in Ankara have prompted Turkey's main opposition to demand a parliamentary inquiry to determine whether intelligence and security officials were guilty of "negligence" prior to the attack.

A legal process to lift the legislative immunities of some members of parliament has gained momentum, with the president and the government framing the issue as a matter of "combatting terrorism."