Erdogan calls and questions Constitutional Court members over unblocking of HDP account

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan allegedly called some members of the Constitutional Court (AYM) after the court lifted the temporary block on the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) treasury aid account, questioning their decision to vote in favor of the move, Turkey’s Halk TV reported.

An AYM member who received a call from the president spoke to Halk TV, explained that he had evaluated the decision from a legal perspective, stating that there was no legal regulation for the temporary block.

Earlier this month the court overturned its previous decision to freeze bank accounts of the HDP accused by the state of links to terrorism but likely to have a pivotal role in upcoming elections that are a threat to President Tayyip Erdogan, releasing 539 million lira ($28.5 million) this year in funds for parties.

“I trusted you so much. How can you vote to unblock accounts?” Erdogan asked, holding them accountable for the decision, according to Halk TV. He also told the member the decision was not lawful

The AYM member, who did not give his name, added that he replied the president saying he was bound by the law in his decision to lift the block.

“There is no legal regulation regarding the precautionary measure, neither in the Constitution nor in the laws. I told him this. Other than that, the conversation was private, so ultimately that's all," he said.

The member said he voted for blocking the funds for the HDP in the first decision but changed his mind in the second due to the lack of evidence that the treasury aid was being directly transferred to a terrorist organization.

"In the face of an allegation that the treasury aid was directly transferred to a terrorist organization, personally, I couldn't find any other way than blocking. However, we saw in the documents that there was no actual transfer to the terrorist organization, for 2017-2018 and later years. There are payments to companies, and so on. Since I did not have a conviction that money was directly transferred to a terrorist organization, I changed my opinion."

The HDP has been under increasing pressure from the government to shut down due to alleged links to a terrorist organization, a claim that the party vehemently denies.