Released Balyoz convict and MHP lawmaker Engin Alan takes oath at Parliament

ANKARA

MHP deputy Engin Alan takes his oath at Parliament in Ankara, June 24. AA Photo

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Istanbul deputy Engin Alan, a Balyoz convict who was released from prison last week, has taken his oath at Parliament, almost three years after being elected as a member of Parliament in June 2011.

Alan’s release came after an Istanbul court ruled for the release of all convicts in the Balyoz case, a day after the Constitutional Court ruled that the rights of the 230 convicts were violated and that they should be retried.

Alan was the last deputy who remained behind bars after the release of Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Mustafa Balbay, who was detained as part of the Ergenekon trial, and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) lawmakers in detention as part of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) trial. The releases followed separate rulings from the Constitutional Court.

Earlier on June 24, Alan attended the MHP’s parliamentary group meeting, where he was welcomed by party leader Devlet Bahçeli.