Immunity

Arrested judge Aydın Sefa Akay, who also serves as a United Nations judge, has filed an appeal for his diplomatic immunity following the U.N. Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals' (MICT) rejection of Turkey's response to the U.N. Secretary-General, the MICT has told the Hürriyet Daily News. 

The Sofia Appellate Court is launching the lawsuit against Tsvetan Tsvetanov, former Interior Minister and current Deputy Chair of the GERB party, over crimes against the justice system.

The lawsuit had been stopped for over two months due to Tsvetanov's MP immunity, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Parliament on Wednesday lifted Golden Dawn lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris’s immunity from prosecution so that he can face charges of breaking privacy laws.

Earlier this year Kasidiaris released a video of a private conversation with Panayiotis Baltakos, a close aide of Premier Antonis Samaras at the time. The house voted to lift his immunity with a majority of 219 to 238.

Tsvetan Tsvetanov, a former Interior Minister and current Chair of conservative GERB's parliament group, has renounced his immunity, the party's press office says.

Tsvetanov has submitted a declaration to Parliament in which he agrees to have his immunity lifted.

Bulgaria's Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov has asked Parliament to strip 5 MPs of their immunity from prosecution, including Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Volen Siderov, Georgi Svilenski, Iliya Iliev, Dimitar Dimitrov, and MEP Sergey Stanishev.

The move aims to pave the way for criminal proceedings against MPs with immunity from prosecution.

The Greek Parliament has voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of Golden Dawn MP Artemis Matthaiopoulos to face charges of robbery.

During a vote Wednesday, 198 of the 203 deputies present backed the decision. Four MPs voted against and one present.

Matthaiopoulos denied the charges which he said are politically-motivated.

The Sofia City Court has stopped a trial against former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov in on the grounds of the immunity from prosecution acquired as newly elected MP from center-right party GERB.

...

Romania's chamber of deputies on Monday gave its approval for prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into Valerian Vreme, a parliamentarian suspected of money laundering, abuse of office and bribery in relation to software licences for schools.

A Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker has been summoned by a Turkish court, following a complaint filed by Saudi businessman Yasin al-Qadi, a controversial figure who is known for his closeness to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and who is accused of financing al-Qaeda. Al-Qadi’s name was also included in the list of suspects in the Dec. 25 corruption probe.

Angry scenes unfolded in Greece's parliament on June 4 after lawmakers voted to lift immunity for the jailed leader of extreme right party Golden Dawn and two of his deputies.