“The activities of political parties can not be prevented by judicial decisions”

A decision by Turkey’s Constitutional Court to freeze the bank account of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP,) and halt treasury funding unlawfully hinders its political activities less than six months before general elections and thus can not be regarded separately from the election campaign atmosphere in the country, Diyarbakir Bar Association said on Friday in a written statement.

The move against the HDP, the third biggest party in parliament, comes ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections that are set to be held by June and which are expected to present a major challenge to President Tayyip Erdogan.

The statement by the bar titled “The activities of political parties can not be prevented by judicial decisions,” said the ruling constituted an “intervention to the political scene with the hand of the jurisdiction.”

“This unlawful injunction prevents HDP from undertaking its political activities and violates its freedom of association,” the statement said.

Meanwhile Saruhan Oluc, the group deputy chairman of the HDP said that the court rushed to a decision despite the party’s appeal to present its defense.

Oluc said the decision was a political one taken by the court which was under pressure from the parties in the ruling bloc.