Friday 14 March 2003

HADEP closed down

Mustafa Bumin, Chairman of the Constitutional Court, stated that HADEP was banned. "It has been understood that HADEP has become the focal point of activities against the state's indivisible unity by aiding and supporting the PKK,? said the court?s chief. The court also slapped a five-year political ban on 46 party members, including several founding members.

The closure case against HADEP on pending for 4 years concluded the other day.

After a hearing at the Constitutional Court, Chief Judge Mustafa Bumin and other members of the court organized a press conference. Bumin stated that the cause of the long delay was that it had included a number of ?references? to several cases at state security courts. The constitutional court verdict, reached unanimously by its 11-members, bans the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) for ?becoming the focal point of activities against the state's indivisible unity by aiding and supporting the PKK? under the articles 68 and 69 of the Constitution and the articles 101 and 103 of the Law on political Parties. The court also ordered the party's assets to be seized.

Five-year political ban on 46 party members

The chief judge pointed out that the verdict handed a five-year political ban on 46 HADEP members and administrators including its former chairman Murat Bozlak. The ban will begin when the verdict is published in the Official Gazzette. The list of the banned is as follows:

Murat Bozlak, Hikmet Fidan, Kemal Bulbul, Kemal Okutan, Kudret Gozutok, Esref Odabasi, Recep Doganer, Mehmet Satan, Hamit Geylani, Mehmet Selim Okcuoglu, Hayri Ates, Hasan Dogan, Mehmet Yücedag, Arif Atalay, Hüseyin Duran, Ismail Minkara, Hamza Abay, Yilmaz Açikgoz, Muharrem Bulbul, Serhat Inan, Guven Ozata, Bedir Cetin, Haci Pamuk, Ismail Turap, Abuzer Arslan, Riza Kilinç, Sukru Karadag, Ramazan Sertkaya, Mehmet Mansur Resitoglu, Hediyatullah Ulgen, Mehmet Emin Bayar, Suzan Erdogan, Halime Koklutas, Mehmet Yardimciel, Semistan Agbaba, Zeki Kilicgedik, Sakine Berktas, Hasan Yildirim, Beser Kaplan, Hidir Berktas, Sabri Sel, Ferhat Avci, Yasar Ucar, Ali Gelgec, Veysel Turhan ve Abuzer Yavas.

Bumin: The sentence on the top limit

Bumin said that they had handed down a sentence on the top limit. Replying a question about the ECHR cases that condemned Turkey for outlawing HEP, OZDEP and DEP and whether the court took them into consideration in closing HADEP down, Bumin said the following: ?I think that we have reached a decision in parallel to the verdicts of the European court. Because, like I have said, there are actions against the indivisible integrity of the state with its territory and nation.?


Close