Jan. 5 () –
The Constitutional Court of Turkey has blocked this Thursday the bank accounts of the Kurdish opposition party People’s Democracy Party (HDP) in the framework of a case against the formation that could lead to its illegalization for maintaining alleged links with the Workers’ Party of Kurdistan (PKK).
The HDP, the third largest political party in Turkey, has denied the accusations by the government and the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who insist on linking him to the militia, considered a terrorist group by Ankara.
The measure has been taken after the Prosecutor’s Office requested the freezing of these accounts as the case progresses, according to information from the TRT television network.
The HDP was expected to receive 539 million liras (about 27 million euros) to finance electoral campaigns for the general and presidential elections scheduled for mid-2023.
The party, for its part, has condemned the decision on its Twitter account and has described it as an “attempt to block a fair and democratic electoral process.” The process dates back to 2021, when the court accepted the lawsuit against the formation for its alleged ties to the PKK.
The case, however, comes after years of crackdowns by the government against the HDP and its members, some of whom have been tried or imprisoned.
