Turkey's top judge says AKP ruling would not cause "doomsday"

"Turkey is a great country. We won't have any doomsdays or such. This country has lived so many things. So nobody should be concerned. Turkey's institutions are functioning. They are fulfilling their duties," Kilic told reporters in a bid to soothe concerns over the ruling on the case.Â

 

Turkey has been waiting for the court's ruling on the closure case against the AKP. The rapporteur of the court is expected to submit his final report on the merits of the case on Wednesday, the final step before the court begins the hearing. Once the report is submitted, it would be distributed to court members and Kilic will set a date for the first hearing.

 

Kilic refused to specify a date for the first hearing. "I will discuss with other court members to see when they can complete their evaluation on the case. Then I will select a date to include the case on the agenda," he said.

 

Earlier the deputy chairman of the court, Osman Paksut, implied the case could be finalized at the end of June or early August. Paksut had also said whatever the ruling outcome; it would not cause "doomsday" in Turkey.

 

Kilic demanded the file of the case against the religious sect leader, Fethullah Gulen, from the court concerned. The Gulen case would be taken into consideration in the closure case against the AKP, Hurriyet daily reported on Tuesday.

 

Gulen was tried on charges of "forming an illegal terrorist organization that aimed to introduce Sharia law using force and violence." A lower court ruled for the acquittal of Gulen, a verdict later upheld by a higher court.

 

Gulen, Turkey's most controversial religious leader has close relations with the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and has a broad following; however, many in Turkey believe he is plotting to dismantle the secular state.

 

In the AKP case the top prosecutor had written in his indictment that President Abdullah Gul wanted Turkish embassies to cooperate with schools belonging to Gulen with a mandate issued during his term in the foreign ministry.