Turkish court decides to put ruling AKP on trial

31/03/2008

The eleven-member Constitutional Court judges voted unanimously Monday in favour of hearing a case brought by Turkey's chief prosecutor.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 31/03/08

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could be barred from politics if the lawsuit succeeds. [Getty Images]

Turkey's Constitutional Court decided on Monday (March 31st) to put the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on trial on charges of undermining the country's secular system. In a unanimous vote, the 11 judges agreed to hear a case brought by Turkey's chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya.

"The Constitutional Court has found the indictment of chief prosecutor to be admissible. But this doesn't meant that the top court agrees to the claims cited in that indictment," journalist Taha Akyol told CNN Turk. "Now it will hear the petition."

Yalcinkaya filed his lawsuit on March 14th, seeking to have the party banned. He accused the AKP of becoming a "focal point" for anti-secular activities, and claimed it has a "hidden agenda" aimed at transforming Turkey into an Islamic state.

He also called for 71 officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, to be barred from politics for five years. The court was split over whether to put Gul on trial, with four judges opposed and the others in favour. Under the constitution, a president can only be tried on charges of treason.

The secretary general of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Cihan Pacaci, was the first to comment on the decision. "From now on, a legal process will start. Everybody should respect the decision of the Constitutional Court."

The AKP describes itself as a conservative democratic party. It won a solid victory in last year's elections, receiving 47% of the vote. Last month, to the dismay of secularists, it succeeded in lifting a ban on wearing Islamic headscarves at universities.

That move, according to Yalcinkaya, is proof that the party is trying to reshape Turkey along religious lines. In his 162-page indictment, the prosecutor also cited various statements by Erdogan that referred to Islam and Islamic law.

The trial is expected to take six months. As a first step, the Constitutional Court will forward the indictment to the AKP, which has one month to come up with a defence statement. After that, Yalcinkaya will issue a technical opinion on the case.

Later, AKP officials will testify in their own defence. Once that process is complete, the rapporteurs of the Constitutional Court will prepare a technical report.

After the report is ready, the 11 members of the Constitutional Court will review it. They will then convene to rule on the case. The vote of at least seven judges is needed to shut down the AKP.

Eight of the 11 judges on the bench were appointed by former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunch secularist who clashed frequently with the AKP.

In the meantime, the ruling party plans to introduce a series of constitutional amendments aimed at making party closures more difficult. With opposition parties reluctant to support the proposed changes, however, they may end up being put before the public in referendum.