Turkish parliament strips status of opposition MP after judicial clash

The Court of Cassation ruling that upheld Atalay's conviction was announced in parliament on Tuesday at the general assembly session. That resulted in parliament stripping his status.

Turkey's parliament stripped on Tuesday the status of a jailed opposition lawmaker who had been at the center of a judicial crisis between two of the country's top courts. Can Atalay, 47, was elected to parliament in May last year representing the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP) - an ally of the big pro-Kurdish DEM party - while serving an 18-year prison sentence.

Turkey's top appeals court, the Court of Cassation, twice refused to release Atalay despite a Constitutional Court ruling that his rights to be elected were violated. The Court of Cassation ruling that upheld Atalay's conviction was announced in parliament on Tuesday at the general assembly session. That resulted in parliament stripping his status.