ANKARA – Kilicdaroglu said during a broadcast on Sozcu TV that he does not regret voting "yes" on the constitutional amendment that led to the arrest of Selahattin Demirtas and HDP deputies. The 2016 constitutional amendment led to the arrest of 16 HDP deputies, with Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag's detention reaching 10 years.
When the same constitutional amendment caused CHP deputy Enis Berberoglu's arrest, Kilicdaroglu launched the Justice March. Appointed CHP chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu appeared on Sozcu TV this evening (June 19) for the first time since a program in February 2025 where he raised claims of "irregularities at the convention."
Kilicdaroglu's statements on lifting parliamentary immunity and on former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas sparked debate. "I would want my immunity lifted" Asked about the stance on lifting immunity when the investigation into deputies in the convention criminal case reaches parliament, Kilicdaroglu, who was brought to office by the appellate court's absolute nullity decision, replied: "Personally, if there is such a claim about me, I would want my immunity lifted and go and clear my name. Lifting immunity is also one of our party's fundamental principles."
Injustice against Demirtas but Kilicdaroglu not regretful Journalists Baris Terkoglu and Senem Toluay Ilgaz, who posed questions during the program, reminded Kilicdaroglu of his previous statements. Terkoglu said, "The last time you did this, Selahattin Demirtas was arrested, you know," while Ilgaz added, "Moreover, you found the charges against him and his imprisonment to be political."
In response, Kilicdaroglu said, "There was already a majority regarding Mr. Selahattin, you know there is a special article in the Constitution regarding terrorism." Asked whether he regretted supporting the constitutional amendment, Kilicdaroglu replied: "No. Look, your own party and its convention established a basic provision regarding lifting immunity. If you say, 'I don't listen to the convention and I won't do this,' that wouldn't be right. Was Mr. Selahattin arrested? Yes. Is he a political prisoner? Yes. Is it wrong? Yes. Did I visit him? I visited him many times and said so everywhere. I opposed the arrest of a person due to political opinions. I don't have immunity now either. I know an injustice was done. I know an injustice was also done to the Hatay deputy (Can Atalay). There are AYM and AİHM rulings."
The constitutional amendment in question took place in 2016. Today, when the lifting of immunity is brought up, one of the first things that comes to mind is Kilicdaroglu's stance at the time. After the November 1, 2015 elections, "terrorism" became a top agenda item in Turkey again, and many files had accumulated against HDP deputies. President Erdogan and the AKP administration wanted the immunity files to be processed quickly, and the MHP openly supported this. In April 2016, the AKP submitted a constitutional amendment proposal to parliament to lift immunity.
During the legislative term with 317 AKP deputies, the MHP also supported lifting immunity with its 40 deputies. However, 367 votes were needed to pass a constitutional amendment in parliament without a referendum. Kilicdaroglu's words on April 16, 2016, "It is against the Constitution, but we will say yes," went down in history. Former HDP deputy Sirri Sureyya Onder reacted by saying Kilicdaroglu's yes vote meant "We will make you president" to Erdogan. Onder told CHP deputies, "Tomorrow you will be put in prisons and cursing the AKP from bunk beds will have no reality."
The constitutional amendment was passed on May 20, 2016, with 376 votes in the parliament arithmetic where the CHP had 133 and the HDP had 59 deputies. By adding a provisional Article 20 to the Constitution, immunity was lifted for all existing files at that time. Articles 83, 84, and 85 of the Constitution were suspended once. While there were 800 files for 152 deputies, the cost of this process was charged to the HDP. Nine HDP deputies, including Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were detained on November 4, 2016. A total of 16 deputies were arrested in this process, and despite AİHM rulings, Demirtas and Yuksekdag, who are still in prison, have been detained for 10 years.
Demirtas's claim of "briefing from the General Staff" Before his arrest, Demirtas claimed in an interview with Cumhuriyet newspaper that Kilicdaroglu indirectly received a briefing from the General Staff regarding immunity: "In such a situation, would Kilicdaroglu value us or the military? He would value the military; there was no point in struggling. It is truly sad. I think he made a huge mistake. Because the CHP's Party Assembly and Central Executive Board, even the weight of the parliamentary group, had decided to say no. But if a party chair fulfills a request from the military in a way that doesn't even recognize the decision of his own party's administration, we have nothing left to discuss."
Stating that some CHP deputies were also uncomfortable with this decision, Demirtas said, "We look at the result. If the CHP had not said yes, this issue could not have even come to the commission. After Mr. Kilicdaroglu's statement 'We will vote yes,' the AKP found the courage to bring this proposal to parliament. Therefore, the owner of the proposal is not the AKP, but Kilicdaroglu."
CHP's Berberoglu was also arrested, Kilicdaroglu held the "Justice March" After the constitutional amendment that Kilicdaroglu accepted by saying it was against the Constitution, Enis Berberoglu, against whom a file was prepared for allegedly leaking MIT truck images, was also tried. Sentenced to 25 years in prison on June 14, 2017, Berberoglu was arrested. To protest Berberoglu's arrest, then-CHP Chair Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the "Justice March" from Ankara to Istanbul. Then-HDP Co-Chair Serpil Kemalbay and HDP deputies also supported the march. Kilicdaroglu's "Justice March," covering 420 kilometers in 25 days, ended in front of Maltepe Prison where Berberoglu was held.
Berberoglu remained in detention for about 15 months. During this period, he was re-elected as a deputy on June 24, 2018. Despite the constitutional provision that "for the continuation of investigation and prosecution against a re-elected deputy, immunity must be lifted again," the Court of Cassation adopted the view that files under provisional Article 20 were outside this rule and decided to continue the trial. The Court of Cassation upheld Berberoglu's 5-year-10-month prison sentence for "disclosing information that should remain secret" on September 20, 2018, and ordered the suspension of the sentence's execution until his parliamentary term ended and his release. However, when the presidential letter regarding the upheld sentence was read in the TBMM General Assembly on June 4, 2020, his parliamentary membership was terminated.
The Constitutional Court (AYM) ruled on September 17, 2020, that Enis Berberoglu's "right to be elected and engage in political activities" and "right to personal liberty and security" had been violated. However, the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court, where the first-instance trial was conducted, did not implement the AYM ruling. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek was the president of the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court at that time. Consequently, the AYM issued another violation ruling due to the non-implementation of the decision resulting from the individual application. After the Istanbul 14th Heavy Penal Court complied with the ruling and it was read in parliament on February 11, 2021, Berberoglu regained his parliamentary seat.
