Turkey’s prosecution has filed a suit with the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Peoples’ Democratic Party, the Anadolu Agency reports.
According to its data, the suit states that the statements and actions of the political movement’s members were “aimed at dividing the state and the people.”
In January 2017, charges were brought against HDP co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ for terrorist activity and propaganda. In Ankara, it is assumed that this party, represented in parliament, still continues to maintain ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (considered a terrorist organization in Turkey) and may act as its political wing. In February 2017, Demirtaş was found guilty of “degrading the Turkish nation, the Republic of Turkey and its state institutions” and was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment. The term was subsequently extended several times; the politician remains under arrest.
In the June 2018 presidential elections, Demirtaş put forward his candidacy and took third place with 8.4% of the vote. In September of the same year, he was sentenced to 56 months’ imprisonment on charges of terrorist propaganda. In the 2018 parliamentary elections, the HDP received 11.7% of the votes and 67 seats, making it the third largest political force represented in the highest legislative body.
