Closure case against HDP, request for political ban on 687 people

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

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Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation has filed a closure case against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) by appealing to the Constitutional Court. The indictment has been sent to the top court.

In his written statement about the issue, Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation Bekir Şahin has indicated that the Article 68/3 of the Constitution of Turkey and the Article 90 of the Law on Political Parties stipulate that the political parties shall carry out their activities within the frame of the Constitutional and legal provisions.

Referring to the Article 14 of the Constitution, Şahin has said that "none of the rights and freedoms embodied in the Constitution shall be exercised in the form of activities aiming to violate the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation, and to endanger the existence of the democratic and secular order of the Republic based on human rights."

He has also mentioned the Article 69/6 of the Constitution and the Article 103 of the Law on Political Parties regarding the closure of a political party over its actions in violation of the Article 68/4 of the Constitution.

Referring to the Article 11/1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well, he has noted that "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association with others," adding that the Article 11/2 stipulates that "no restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."

Şahin has further said, "As a matter of fact, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has considered even the failure to condemn terrorism to be an adquate reason for closing a political party."

The Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation has noted that "the executives and members of political parties must carry out their activities within the frame of democratic principles, must not be in connection or cohesion with terrorist organizations and must not aim to disturb or destroy the indivisible integrity of the state with its country and nation."

Şahin has said, "Within this context, as it has been understood that the executives and members of the HDP, with their statements and actions, act in a way incompatible with democratic and universal legal principles, they act together with the PKK terrorist organization and the organizations affiliated with it and they aim to disturb or eliminate the indivisible integrity of the state with its country and nation by engaging in activities as its affiliate, it has been requested that the Constitutional Court close the aforementioned party."

Request for political ban on 687 people

In the indictment prepared by Court of Cassation's Chief Public Prosecutor Şahin, there is also a request for political ban on 687 HDP politicians.

In the event that the Constitutional Court concludes that the related people, with their statements and actions, have caused the total closure of the party, they shall not be the founder, member, executive or inspector of another political party for five years starting from the day when the top court's detailed ruling of party closure is published in the Official Gazette.

Court began the inquiry 2 weeks ago

The Court of Cassation launched an inquiry against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on March 2, 2021. The Political Parties Bureau of the Court of Cassation's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office sent an official letter to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and requested the Kobane indictment filed against 108 defendants, including imprisoned former HDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ.

As part of the investigation into the Kobane protests from seven years ago, summaries of proceedings have been issued against 9 HDP MPs, including HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan. The prosecutor's office of the high court requested these summaries as well, while the sources close to the office said that "it was a routine procedure." (EKN/SD)