Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.17 /Trend A.Taghiyeva/
The Turkish parliament has passed amendments to the Law on the Intelligence Service and the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) on Friday morning, allowing the investigation its employees only with the permission of the head of government, Anatolia reports.
The opposition had previously stated that it will challenge the law before the Constitutional Court at the point of its adoption.
The question of the legal protection of Turkish intelligence officers was included in the agenda of the parliament after a scandal whereby the prosecutor in Istanbul brought in the current head of MIT Hakan Fidan, Emre Taner his predecessor and three representatives of the intelligence for questioning.
Prosecutors decided to question intelligence officers on the basis of requirements of local government security investigating the case of the Union of Kurdistan communities, an organisation considered as being the urban wing of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Local government security accused MIT which conducted secret talks with the separatists, as being in collusion with them.
An investigation relating to Turkish intelligence officers and others appointed by the prime minister to perform certain tasks as well as carrying out their normal duties is now only possible with the approval of the Prime Minister in accordance with the bill passed by Parliament which will come into force after being approved by the president.