Turkish parliament has approved a government-sponsored amendment to a bill that requires prosecutors to receive special permission from the prime minister when taking legal action against or questioning intelligence officials Today`s Zaman reproted
The bill, drafted by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), aims to amend Article 26 of the Law on MİT Personnel. The Justice Commission endorsed the bill on Tuesday night and added an additional ad hoc article, allowing incumbent MİT Undersecretary Hakan Fidan to benefit from the law.
The Parliament approved the first article of the bill which initially said "MİT personnel or those who are assigned by the prime minister for a special duty..." but changed to "MİT personnel or those who were assigned by the prime minister from public officials for a certain duty..." during a session on Thursday night.
The proposed MİT law was presented to Parliament by the AK Party last week following a dispute that emerged after a specially authorized prosecutor summoned Fidan and four others to testify as part of a probe into the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), a group which prosecutors say controls the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other affiliated groups.
If the proposed law is passed, an investigation into MİT officials on charges of crimes that are heard by specially authorized courts can be launched only after written permission is obtained from the prime minister. Opposition parties and some others are against the proposed bill on the grounds that it is designed for the benefit of certain people and hence runs contrary to the rule of law.
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