ANKARA: Following its lawsuit to ban the pro-Kurdish Peoples鈥� Democratic Party (HDP), the Turkish government鈥檚 crackdown against the party escalated on Friday morning, with dawn raids carried out on houses in Istanbul, Ankara and several other cities detaining dozens of people, including local HDP executives.

The government claims the HDP has ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party (PKK) which the HDP denies.

On March 17, a prosecutor filed a case with the Constitutional Court of Turkey to ban the HDP, the third largest party in the Turkish Parliament, representing 6 million voters at the 2018 election

The move, criticized by the US and the EU, was denounced by the HDP as a 鈥減olitical coup鈥� not based on legal grounds.

鈥淓ven after all of (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan鈥檚 authoritarian repression against his political opponents, actually shutting down an opposition party always seemed like a bridge too far,鈥� Merve Tahiroglu, Turkey program coordinator at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), told Arab News.

鈥淕iven that Erdogan himself has suffered from anti-democratic party closures throughout his political career, it may still prove too politically costly for him to pursue the closure of the HDP,鈥� she added.

Erdogan鈥檚 ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) survived a closure case of its own in 2008 after an indictment brought by the then chief prosecutor, seeking to bar it and its leaders from politics. The Constitutional Court decided instead to cut the party鈥檚 state funding due to its 鈥渁nti-secular鈥� practices.

According to Tahiroglu, the latest government moves to ban the HDP from the political scene, and the recent crackdown on party officials, aims to appease the AKP鈥檚 far-right coalition partner, the Nationalist Movement Party.

But, she said, even the threat of closing down the HDP would benefit Erdogan by driving a wedge in the opposition coalition, forcing politicians to either come out in support of the move, thereby alienating liberal and Kurdish voters, or oppose the move, alienating nationalists.

On Thursday, former Turkish President Abdullah Gul, a staunch critic of Erdogan, warned that attempts to close the HDP will damage Turkey greatly, adding that similar moves against pro-Kurdish parties in the past had resulted in 鈥淭urkey鈥檚 isolation.鈥�

Despite up to 600 officials facing expulsion from political life, the HDP is expected to regroup under a new brand, but with similar ideological beliefs, if officially closed.

鈥淭he ongoing crackdowns against the HDP are bad enough for Turkish democracy. But given the Biden administration鈥檚 emphasis on democratic values, the closure of an opposition party should be a red line,鈥� Tahiroglu said.

In Ankara, Ozturk Turkdogan, the chairman of Human Rights Association (IHD), was also detained during the raids, with no official statement given as to why.

Turkdogan was recently criticized by Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu after he condemned the government for risking the lives of 13 people during a military operation in northern Iraq鈥檚 Gara Mountains, where Turkish hostages were being held, and were later executed, by the PKK.

Soylu reacted angrily to Turkdogan鈥檚 criticism, calling the IHD a 鈥渃ursed association.鈥�

The IHD has previously acted as an intermediary between the PKK and the state to return hostages, including 20 captives who were returned to Turkey in 2015.

Turkdogan also recently criticized the government鈥檚 new Human Rights Action Plan, claiming that it was little more than window dressing, and that it should include measures to protect human rights activists and associations.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) released a statement on Friday, calling for the immediate release of Turkdogan.

鈥淭he arrest and search of Turkdogan鈥檚 (house) continues a systematic pattern of misuse of criminal law to harass and persecute human rights defenders and lawyers in Turkey in recent years,鈥� said the ICJ鈥檚 Europe and Central Asia Program Director Roisin Pillay.

鈥淭urkdogan must be released immediately. If he remains in detention then he must be ensured immediate and confidential access to a lawyer, and be informed of the nature of any charges against him and brought promptly before a court.鈥�