Top Turkish court rejects bid to close pro-Kurdish party
Citing technical flaws in a case seeking the closure of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, the Turkish Constitutional Court rejected an indictment by a top prosecutor, setting the stage for possible rifts among political alliances in Ankara.
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Constitutional Court rejected on April 1 a March 17 indictment by a top prosecutor seeking to close the nation’s second-largest opposition party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). The case charged HDP officials with alleged ties to Kurdish militants and sought a five-year-political ban on more than 600 party members.
Citing procedural omissions, Turkey’s top court returned the 609-page indictment to the Court of Cassation, which can resubmit the case after providing missing details such as suspects’ personal information, their roles in the party and the criminal charges lodged against them.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahceli, who has led calls to close the HDP in recent months, condemned the move in a statement, suggesting the Constitutional Court itself should be shuttered after the decision.
“Is the Constitutional Court for the rule of law or is it a slapstick for separatism?” Bahceli said, adding, “The closure of the Constitutional Court, as well as the dissolution of the HDP, should be an urgent target.”
