Turkish ruling party: HDP closure issue up to judiciary

ANKARA

Turkey's justice system will decide on the possible closure of the terrorist-linked Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the country's ruling party's parliamentary group head said on Wednesday.

"Will the HDP be closed? The response to this question lies not in politics but in the law. Relevant authorities will look, examine, evaluate, and make a final judgment based on the evidence," Naci Bostanci, Ankara lawmaker from the Justice and Development (AK) Party, told Anadolu Agency.

“We deal with politics,” he explained, adding: "Legal evaluation is the subject of independent courts.”

Bostanci called on the HDP to steer clear of the terrorist group PKK.

"That's why they get such harsh criticism. That's why they have been slammed, because of their silence on terrorism," he said, referring to the party’s refusal to condemn the terrorist PKK.

Bostanci stressed that the HDP should not be conflated with Turkish voters of Kurdish origin.

Turkey's government has said the HDP has links with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the EU.

Recent weeks have seen rising calls for closure of the HDP.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.