Protest from politicians, academics and civil society organizations of Turkey that erupted after a case filed to shut down the ruling Justice and Development Party (A&P) continued uninterrupted throughout the weekend, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on Monday.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday evening by the chief prosecutor of the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, sought to shut the A&P because of its alleged anti-secular activities, said the report.
Yalcinkaya also asked for 71 party members, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and President Abdullah Gul, to be banned from politics for five years, it said.
The A&P, in a press conference on Friday night, called the suit "an attack on Turkish democracy and the Turkish people," terming it the worst injustice against the country's larger interests, peace and stability as well as its reputation in the world.
According to the report, politicians outside the A&P also protested the case, while a large number of civil society organizations have expressed support for the A&P and condemned the bid to close it down.
The prosecutor's case comes after a recent move by the A&P to change the constitution to put an end to a ban on the headscarf at university, which drew harsh criticism from Yalcinkaya. The indictment accuses the A&P of having become "a focal point of anti-secular activities."
The A&P was elected last year in July with nearly 47 percent of the vote. If the court decides to accept the case, the A&P will have a month to prepare an initial defense.
Source:Xinhua
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