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Prosecutors detain suspects accused of sexually harassing young interns at Turkish parliament

ISTANBUL (AP) — Five people have been detained in Turkey over a sex harassment scandal that has hit the country’s parliament, prosecutors in the capital Ankara said Friday.

Allegations that young female interns working in the kitchens and restaurant of the Grand National Assembly were subjected to sexual harassment were first reported by the BirGun newspaper on Thursday.

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that one suspect was jailed pending trial Thursday following a complaint by an alleged victim who worked in the parliament’s restaurant.

After three more complainants were interviewed, a further four suspects were arrested and are due to be brought before court, the prosecution statement added.

According to BirGun, such harassment had been ongoing for years and management failed to act. The alleged victims were reportedly vocational high school students.

Ozgur Ozel, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, called for “transparent answers” following a protest outside parliament on Thursday.

A CHP lawmaker for Ankara, Semra Dincer, submitted a motion for a parliamentary investigation into the allegations. She said the inquiry should examine internal oversight and reporting mechanisms.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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