Turkish court rejects AK party ban

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, had rejected the charges [EPA] Turkey's highest court has announced that it will not close down the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) on charges of undermining the country's secular system. The AK Party was re-elected with 47 per cent of the vote last year and had denied charges of violating the secular constitution. The case first reached the court in March, while final deliberations had begun on Monday. Hasim Kilic, the head of the constitutional court, said that the party would instead be deprived of half of its funding from the state treasury.