A Turkish court ruled on Monday that President Abdullah Gul should stand trial for a fraud case a decade ago, a move that could fuel further animosity between the Islamist-rooted government and the secularist establishment, Reuters reported.
As president, Gul enjoys immunity. But the pursuance of an old case involving millions of dollars of missing party funds could heighten tension in the European Union candidate country.
Turkey's ruling AK Party has long been at loggerheads with the secularist establishment, including army generals, judges and academics.
The decision by an Ankara heavy penalty court, that ran counter to a no-trial recommendation by a prosecutor, came as a surprise and traders said the news briefly reversed a buying trend in the Turkish market, fuelling sales in Turkish bonds.
"It is the rule in the Turkish Republic's constitution and laws that everyone should stand trial," the court ruled.
Gul's office rejected the court's ruling, saying that the constitution allowed the president to be put on trial only for treason.
A court of appeals now will have the final say.
"It doesn't look like Gul's future is at stake anywhere in the short term but the secularist opposition could try to use this to create noise and discredit the government," said Wolfango Piccoli from Eurasia Group think-tank.
"Accusations of corruption might bite where accusations of undermining secularism didn't bite," he said.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his AK Party have been accused of corruption by the secularist opposition who could use the case as fresh ammunition against a party they bitterly oppose and accuse of harboring a hidden political Islam.
The AK Party, which swept to power after the collapse of traditional parties in 2002 following corruption allegations and economic mismanagement, has rejected charges of graft.
Political passions are already running high in Turkey over a separate investigation into an alleged right-wing group accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Some hardline secularists see it as part of a strategy to break the power of military and courts and promote Islamist rule.
...