“This case was prepared as a result of the pressure put on the chief prosecutors of the Court of Cassation by the ruling party and its partners. Therefore, in our defence we presented this matter to the attention of the Constitutional Court with evidence,” Umit Dede said on Saturday, Reuters reported.
His comments came a day after HDP submitted its initial defence to the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court accepted the indictment against HDP made in June. The indictment calls for the party to be dismantled on the grounds that it has ties to militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group that is banned in Turkey.
Bekir Sahin, the chief prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, has said that HDP works with the PKK and aims to undermine Turkey’s unity. The HDP invariably denies it has links to the PKK and has called the case against it a “political operation.”
Thousands of HDP members have been put on trial in recent years, often on the dubious basis that they have links to terrorism.
The HDP presently has 55 seats in Turkey’s 600-seat parliament.
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