BBC: Turkey's chief prosecutor has appeared before the country's Constitutional Court calling for the governing party to be closed down.
Founded by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Justice and Development Party, the AKP, won a landslide victory in the last election.
But its critics say it is trying to impose Sharia law on the secular state.
The party's attempt to ease a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf is expected to be central to the evidence.
Prosecutor Abdurraham Yalcinkaya, who has argued that the party has become the focal point of anti-secular activities in Turkey, is appearing before judges in a closed-door session.
"This risk has been increasing every day" reads the 162-page petition submitted to the Constitutional Court by Mr Yalcinkaya.
"The danger is clear and concrete. There is no other way to protect society than to close the party down," it reads.
He is calling for the prime minister, president and 69 other party members to be banned from politics.
The AKP has condemned the case as an assault on democracy. A team representing the party are expected to present their defence on Thursday.
The EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has warned the case could jeopardise Turkey's bid to join the bloc - arguing such disputes should be resolved through the ballot box, not the courts. Turkish Ruling Party Put on Trial >>> | July 1, 2008
LISTEN TO BBC RADIO:
The AK Party won the last election in Turkey by a landslide, but its roots are in political Islam. Now Turkey's chief prosecutor is to give evidence to the country's constitutional court calling for the governing party to be closed down. The prosecutor claims it is trying to impose sharia law on Turkey, which is a strictly secular state >>> Sarah Rainsford reports | July 1, 2008
VOICE OF AMERICA:
Case Against Turkey's Ruling Party Gets Under Way: Turkey's constitutional court has begun hearing a case calling for the ruling Justice and Development Party to be shut down on the charge of undermining the secular state. The prosecutors are asking the court to disband the party and ban the prime minister and president from politics. As Dorian Jones reports for VOA from Istanbul, just as the case got started, Turkish authorities arrested more than 20 hardline nationalists, including two retired generals >>> By Dorian Jones, Istanbul | July 1, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
