Democracy Party was a pro-Kurdish

Kurds in Turkey

Ethnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey . Unlike the Turks, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language...

 political party in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. It was founded in May 1993 by several prominent members of the People's Labor Party (HEP). The party became divided over the issue of the PKK, two factions - moderate and radical - appeared. Due to the promotion of Kurdish nationalism the party was banned by the Constitutional Court on 16 June 1994. Six DEP deputies were arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Prominent party members included Leyla Zana

Leyla Zana

Leyla Zana , is a Kurdish politician, who was imprisoned for 10 years for her political actions which were claimed to be against the unity of Turkey. When she was a member of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, she was banned from joining any political party for five years with the Constitutional...

, Mahmut Alınak, Hatip Dicle

Hatip Dicle

Hatip Dicle , full name Mehmet Hatip Dicle, is a Turkish politician, of Kurdish origin, of the Peace and Democracy Party .In 1979 he graduated in engineering from the Istanbul Teknik Üniversitesi...

, Orhan Doğan

Orhan Doğan

Orhan Doğan , was a Turkish politician, of Kurdish origin, of the Democratic Society Party.In 1974 he went to the University of Ankara to study law.In 1991 he was elected to the Turkish Parliament....

, Ahmet Türk

Ahmet Türk

Ahmet Türk is a Kurdish politician in Turkey. He was the chairman of the former pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in Turkey and was a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. On December 11, 2009, the Constitutional Court of Turkey voted to ban the DTP, accusing it of connection with PKK...

, Sırrı Sakık, Zübeyir Aydar

Zübeyir Aydar

Zübeyir Aydar is a Kurdish politician and President of the Kongra-Gel, which is the parliament of the Koma Civakên Kurdistan , making him the de facto political leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party....

 and Selim Sadak

Selim Sadak

Selim Sadak, is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin, currently the mayor of Siirt.Selim Sadak graduated from the Mathematics department of Diyarbakır Eğitim Enstitüsü...

.

It was succeeded by the People's Democracy Party

People's Democracy Party

People’s Democracy Party was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. It was founded in May 1994 by lawyer Murat Bozlak. The party adopted a moderate course and kept its distance from the issue of the PKK....

 (HADEP) established in May 1994.

In 2002, the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

 held DP's dissolution to be contrary to Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

(freedom of association).