Turkish MPs back bill lifting immunity

Turkey's parliament yesterday adopted a highly controversial bill that would lift immunity for dozens of pro-Kurdish and other MPs and could see them evicted from parliament, sparking fresh domestic and international concern.

The bill was backed by 376 MPs in the 550-seat legislature, meaning it will become law directly without being put to a referendum, parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman said.

Only 140 voted against the measure. Under current law, Turkish lawmakers have the right to full immunity from prosecution.

The bill -- which still needs President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approval before becoming law -- would lift the immunity of 138 deputies from all parties who face potential prosecution.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) says the bill is aimed at expelling its members from parliament.

HDP lawmakers are vulnerable to prosecution on allegations of links or even verbal support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in the southeast.

The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies. Following the collapse of a two-year ceasefire in summer 2015, Turkey has been waging an intensive offensive against its militants and the renewed conflict has claimed hundreds of lives.