HDP spokeswoman Ebru Günay has commented in Ankara on the motion to ban her party, which was rejected by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. She said the rejection was not only for formal reasons, but because of the baselessness of the indictment. The thesis put forward by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office that the HDP is the focus of anti-state actions is thus invalid, Günay said at the press conference at HDP headquarters.

"The indictment lacks any legal basis. If it had been accepted, it would have torn deep wounds into society's conscience. With its decision, the Constitutional Court has, at least for the time being, not made itself part of the machinations that violate the principles of democratic politics and international legal norms,” Günay said.

Ebru Günay reiterated that the application to ban the HDP is not legally but politically motivated. She pointed out that the rejection did not result from procedures, but from the merits. According to the Constitutional Court, the indictment did not establish a sufficient connection between the "actions of the relevant party organs" and the accusations. The motion to ban accuses the HDP of becoming "the focus of actions against the indivisibility of the nation". "This is what the entire indictment is based on and the Constitutional Court does not see sufficient evidence for this. In this respect, it is an evaluation on the merits," the HDP spokeswoman said.

Response to Bahçeli

In her remarks, the HDP spokeswoman also addressed MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli's reaction to the rejection of the ban application. The leader of the right-wing nationalist MHP had sharply attacked the Constitutional Court, saying, "Does the Constitutional Court stand up for the sovereignty of the judiciary or a claqueur for separatism? Just like the closure of the HDP, the closure of the Constitutional Court must be a goal that cannot be postponed by now."

Commenting on Bahçeli’s remarks, Ebru Günay said, "This is not the language of a political party, but of a putschist attacking the judiciary." She pointed out that the threat was directed not only against Turkey's highest court, but against all the actors in the talks for a solution held between the Turkish state and the Kurdish movement and the entire opposition listed in the ban application. “Bahçeli thus outlined what roadmap he envisaged for the period after the HDP ban. After introducing a trustee regime at the municipal level, he has now also publicly declared war on the highest court in the country and called for its closure, as if it were his father's store," the HDP spokeswoman said.

Günay concluded: "This is no longer just about the HDP. The threat is directed against the Constitutional Court as one of the country's most important institutions. It is a threat that concerns everyone and can fundamentally change the fate of Turkey. We call on all political parties to take a stand against this putschist logic and raise their voices for clean politics and a democratic atmosphere. The whole society is targeted with its democratic values. And this is not taking place secretly, but publicly. The dismissal of the charges in the ban proceedings against our party is not enough, the file must be closed for good. The content of these proceedings goes far beyond the HDP. Every further step taken by the judiciary affects the future of democracy in this country. Remembering this is a historic responsibility."