AKP to submit defense against closure case today

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is expected today to submit to the Constitutional Court its defense against a case seeking its closure. In its defense, the AKP will reportedly stress that constitutional changes to lift the university headscarf ban were passed by Parliament to expand and strengthen basic rights and freedoms. It will also seek to prove party members whom Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya is seeking to ban politically are not in fact involved in anti-secular activities. The defense will also maintain that the AKP has not been a focal point for anti-secular activities but on the contrary, it has helped promote the acceptance of the republic's secular character by the vast majority of the Turkish people. In related news, AKP officials dismissed efforts to link a recent court upholding the university headscarf ban with the closure case, saying they should assessed separately.