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Protest against the planned ban on HDP in Istanbul
Photo: MURAD SEZER / REUTERS
The proposed ban on the opposition party HDP by the Turkish public prosecutor's office is causing international criticism.
The European Parliament's rapporteur for Turkey, Nacho Sanchez Amor, spoke of an unjustifiable step towards "the end of pluralism".
Several members of the Bundestag have now also commented on the planned ban on the pro-Kurdish HDP.
The German-Turkish parliamentary group in the Bundestag condemned the "increasing repression and persecution of the opposition and civil society in Turkey".
"The recent arrest of over 700 people, including dozen of regional board members and local HDP politicians, is part of a longstanding political persecution of opposition forces in Turkey," a statement said.
The General Prosecutor's Office in Ankara wants to have the second largest opposition party banned, among other things because of terrorist charges.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan describes the HDP as the extended arm of the Kurdish underground organization PKK and accuses the party of undermining the “indivisible integrity of the state”.
The US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US is closely following the events in Turkey.
A dissolution of the HDP would further undermine the will of the Turkish voters.
The Turkish government rejected the criticism of the legal steps.
Procedures carried out by "independent courts" are to be respected.
"Commenting on an ongoing legal process is an interference with the judiciary," it said.
According to the Anadolu state agency, the Turkish public prosecutor's office is demanding a ban on political activities for more than 600 HDP politicians in addition to the party ban.
According to the dpa news agency, the indictment has yet to be accepted.
HDP MP refuses to leave parliament
HDP MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioglu had his mandate and thus his immunity withdrawn on Wednesday due to a final judgment.
The background to the judgment is a tweet from 2016.
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HDP politician Gergerlioglu: "I will stay here until the Constitutional Court has decided on my case" (archive image)
Photo: ADEM ALTAN / AFP
However, Gergerlioglu refuses to leave the parliament building in Ankara.
He spent the night on a couch in the room of his party, he told the dpa news agency.
"I'll stay here until the Constitutional Court has decided on my case," said Gergerlioglu.
Other politicians from his party are at his side.
The politician criticizes that the verdict against him is politically motivated and has lodged a complaint with the Constitutional Court.
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fek / dpa / AFP