A Turkish prosecutor has filed a case with the country’s top court, demanding the dissolution of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for alleged collusion with a banned militant movement.
The indictment comes directly following the Turkish parliament’s expulsion of Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a prominent HDP legislator who was convicted of “spreading terrorist propaganda” on the basis of a 2016 social media post.
The case, filed with Turkey’s Constitutional Court, accuses the HDP of maintaining links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group officially recognised as a terrorist organisation. Prosecutor Bekir Şahin accused HDP members of:
“acting in a way that flouts the democratic and universal rules of law, colluding with the terrorist PKK and affiliated groups, and aiming to destroy and eliminate the indivisible integrity of the state”
The HDP, Turkey’s third-largest political party, denies having any formal links to the militant group, arguing that they are under attack as a result of their opposition to Erdogan’s government. Declaring the allegations “a heavy blow to democracy and law”, the party called on:
“all the democratic forces, the social and political opposition, and on our people to join a common fight against this political coup”
A spokesman for the US State Department also raised concerns regarding the ban’s potential to “further undermine” Turkish democracy, adding that:
“We call on the government of Turkey to respect freedom of expression in line with protections in the Turkish constitution and with Turkey’s international obligations”
The move to shut down the HDP comes as part of a protracted campaign against the pro-Kurdish party, with pressure only intensifying following the collapse of a fragile truce between Erdogan’s government and the PKK in 2015.
Ankara’s efforts to inhibit the capabilities of political opposition also increased following the failed coup attempt in 2016. Selahattin Demirtaș and Figen Yüksekdağ, former HDP co-chairs, were jailed in the immediate aftermath of the coup; facing decades behind bars despite calls for their release by the European Court of Human Rights.
In recent years, Erdogan’s government has steadily curbed representation in the predominantly Kurdish Southeast – at least 59 of the 65 HDP mayors elected in 2019 elections have been forced out of office or detained.
The Turkish government has also recently introduced ‘counter-terrorism’ measures that critically impair the work of NGOs, the consequences of which are likely to be particularly adverse considering Kurdish reliance on civil society for representation.
Further crackdowns on political opposition come despite government pledges to strengthen democratic participation. Following Erdogan’s Human Rights Action Plan, comprehensive efforts to amend political party law were promised and, in Turkey’s 2020 UPR, the government also committed to implementing necessary measures to ensure fundamental freedoms are protected in the political domain.
Erdogan’s government must introduce vital protections for Turkish democracy and ensure that attacks on the HDP do not continue, in line with their previous commitments and international obligations.