DTP Submits Its Defense

The Democratic Society Party (DTP) submitted its defense against the closure case to the Constitutional Court. Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya had filed a permanent closure case against the DTP for being the center of “activities against the indivisible integrity of the state with its country and nation” according to article 69/6 of the Constitution and articles 101/1-b and 103/2 of the Law of Political Parties.

It is stated in the defense that “the indictment includes as sources the news by the national newspapers about the allegations regarding the case, legally the allegations in these news articles cannot be used as proofs, and determination and investigation of the authenticity of these news repots have never been done by the authorized organs in spite of the immense resources they have.”

“129 of 141 acts should be evaluated in the context of the freedom of expression and association”

The DTP stated that 141 acts in the indictment would not require a closure, 129 of these acts should be evaluated in the context of the freedom of expression and association.

The defense also stated that “those individuals whose names are in the four events described in the indictment are not party members, eight cases resulted in acquittals, 33 cases are still pending, 33 preparatory investigations are still continuing, 38 cases are in the Supreme Court of Appeals, the short term imprisonment sentences given in nine cases are converted to fines, and one short term sentence is deferred.

The defense text describes DTP’s goal as such:

“The Democratic Society Party establishes that the immediate need to restructure Turkey in the areas of law, politics, administration, social, economic, cultural and all other with extensive democratic reforms and to secure social peace to make this stage efficient and permanent. To achieve this, as an organization of common struggle for women, youth and different belief groups, above all for all those who subsist on their own labor,   it institutionalizes, with its establishment and operation, the liberal and democratic political struggle, relying on peoples democratic will, without discriminating based on ethnicity, class and sex.”(NZ/TB)