Today's decision by the Turkish Parliament to permit the lifting of parliamentary immunity of a large number of Members of Parliament is a matter of serious concern, reads the joint statement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

Ms Mogherini and Mr Hahn stressed that pursuant to relevant international recommendations, “decisions on lifting immunity must be based on the merits of each specific case, according to transparent criteria and not subject to any political considerations.”

“A restrictive interpretation of the legal framework and the Constitution in particular continue to pose a risk to the freedom of expression of Members of Parliament in Turkey,” the statement reads, RIA Novisti reports.

The Turkish parliament adopted a law on lifting the immunity of its MPs Friday.  The Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) supported the adoption of the law, while  the Peoples' Democratic Party thinks that being deprived of immunity, most of its MPs  will be held criminally liable in connection with the accusation of the authorities for supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is banned in Turkey.