Lagendijk blasts closure case as attempted "judicial coup"

Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Co-Chairman Joost Lagendijk said yesterday that he don't believe claims that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is harming the principle of secularism, warning further that Turkish-EU relations could be harmed by the new case seeking the AKP's closure. "In Europe, nobody accepts the idea that closing a political party is the solution," said Lagendijk. "Those who have a problem with AKP should fight it democratically. Using the power of the judiciary against the AKP with false claims could be called a judicial coup."