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Kerestecioğlu Demir v. Turkey, No. 68136/16, ECtHR (Second Section), 4 May 2021

Abstract

Freedom of political speech and lifting of immunity of a Turkish Member of Parliament on the basis of a constitutional amendment adopted in 2016.

Normative references

Art. 10 ECHR

Ruling

The withdrawal of parliamentary immunity, by a constitutional amendment which sought to restrict the political speech of parliamentarians, constitutes in itself a violation of the right to freedom of expression under article 10 of the Convention.
(In the present case, concerning the waiver of parliamentary immunity from an elected member of the Turkish National Assembly in 2016, the European Court fully aligned with the legal reasoning that the Grand Chamber had developed in its decision Selahattin Demirta? v. Turkey in December 2020).