HÜDA PAR officials face criminal complaint over education proposals

A criminal complaint has been filed with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against HÜDA PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu and several party members, including Faruk Dinç, Şehzade Demir, and Serkan Ramanlı. The complaint, submitted by lawyers on behalf of the Laiklik Meclisi (Secularism Assembly), follows a legislative proposal submitted by HÜDA PAR to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in July.

The proposed amendment to the Basic Law on National Education seeks to allow for the creation of classrooms reserved exclusively for either female or male students, effectively targeting the removal of co-education. Additionally, the proposal includes efforts to grant official status and diploma equivalency to medreses (religious schools), which were previously closed under the Law on Unification of Education (Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu).

The complainants argue that these actions constitute an attack on the secular nature of the Republic as protected by Article 2 of the Constitution and violate the Law on Unification of Education. They contend that the proposal to categorize co-education as a human rights violation and the attempt to integrate religious institutions into the formal state education system are unconstitutional.