Pro-Kurdish party sues Turkey president, premier for 'misusing judiciary'

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey has lodged a complaint against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for what they call misusing their power to clamp down on its party officials.

The HDP filed the criminal complaint on Friday, saying 1,033 of its members have been detained since July 24, when Erdogan urged parliament to lift the immunity from prosecution of politicians with suspected links to the members of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

The party further noted that Turkish police forces have arrested 125 of its officials without providing any concrete evidence, arguing that Erdogan and Davutoglu have violated the independence and impartiality of Turkey’s judiciary.

As the basis for its complaint, the HDP also referred to Article 277 of the Turkish Penal Code, which says anyone who attempts unlawfully to influence members of the judiciary by giving instructions and exerting pressure or influence over one or more of the parties in a trial shall be punished with imprisonment of between two and four years.

Also on Friday, the HDP submitted a proposal to the parliament, calling on the Turkish legislative branch to investigate the reports on Ankara’s ties with ISIL.

On Thursday, Erdogan verbally assaulted HDP co-leader, Selahattin Demirtas, telling him to “know his place” and condemning his elder brother, Nurettin, over joining PKK militants in the semi-autonomous northern part of Iraq.

“He would run there (too) if he found the opportunity,” Erdogan said during a visit to China.

Demirtas has in return denied any wrongdoing and accused the Turkish president of targeting the HDP in revenge for upsetting the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with a strong performance in the June 7 legislative elections.

“We have committed no unforgivable crimes. Our only crime was winning 13 percent of the vote,” he said at a parliament session on Tuesday.

Moreover, Demirtas denounced on Thursday as nothing more than a “show” Turkey’s alleged anti-terror police raids and its so-called anti-ISIL military campaign.

He accused Ankara of using purported anti-ISIL airstrikes as a “cover” to bomb PKK positions.

Ankara has been among the main supporters of Takfiri terrorists wreaking havoc on Syria since March 2011. The violence has reportedly claimed more than 230,000 lives up until now.

There are reports indicating that the Turkish government actively trains and arms the militants operating in Syria, and also facilitates the safe passage of would-be foreign terrorists into the crisis-stricken Arab country.

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