Top prosecutor makes oral argument in AKP closure case

Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya yesterday made his oral argument before the Constitutional Court in favor of closing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Yalcinkaya briefly repeated his indictment, reiterating that the AKP is violating the Constitution's principle of secularism and that this constitutes an "imminent danger." He argued that Venice Commission guidelines on banning and dissolving political parties were not applicable to the AKP closure case. Yalcinkaya added that the Constitutional Court's recent ruling upholding the university headscarf ban did not invalidate his charges against the AKP, but on the contrary strengthened them. He also cited recent remarks by AKP deputy leader Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat saying that Ataturk's revolutions had "traumatized" the Turkish people. The AKP is set to present its oral defense tomorrow.