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By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul
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Turkey launched cross-borders raids in Iraq against the PKK in October
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Turkey's chief prosecutor has given evidence to the constitutional court, in a case aimed at closing down the country's pro-Kurdish political party.
The Democratic Society Party (DTP) - which has 20 seats in the parliament - is accused of ties to the outlawed Kurdish separatist group, the PKK.
The case was opened last November when clashes between the PKK and Turkish troops had intensified.
The DTP asked for extra time and has until September to prepare its case.
The same prosecutor is also seeking the closure of Turkey's governing AK Party, claiming it is undermining the secular state.
'Backwards step'
The chief prosecutor presented his case in just 30 minutes.
He claims that the DTP is acting on direct orders from the armed PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, which it refuses to denounce as a terrorist organisation.
The prosecutor describes the party as a focus for separatist activities. He has asked the court to close it down - and ban dozens of its members from politics.
The DTP insists its only aim is to work for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict, which is now more than two decades old, and has already claimed almost 40,000 lives.
The DTP has 20 seats in the current parliament - the first time a pro-Kurdish party has been represented in national politics in over a decade.
Almost all its predecessors were closed by the courts. DTP officials describe Turkey as a "graveyard for political parties" and call the closure case a step backwards for democracy.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the party to label the PKK a terrorist group.
But he also warned that closing down the DTP risks forcing more people up into the mountains - and into the ranks of the PKK.
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