Following the decision to end armed struggle in 2002, activists of theHizbullah's Menzil group founded an association called "Solidarity with the Oppressed" (Turkish:Mustazaflar ile Dayanışma Derneği or short Mustazaf-Der) in 2003.[b][24] It also became known as the Movement of the Oppressed (Turkish:Mustazaflar Hareketi). On 18 April 2010, Mustazaf Der organized a mass meeting inDiyarbakır to celebrate the anniversary of the Islamic prophetMuhammad's birthday (known asMawlid). The Turkish police estimated that the event was attended by 2 million people. The organizers put the figure at over 2.5 million people.[25]
On 20 April 2010, a court in Diyarbakır ordered the closure of the Association for the Oppressed (Mustazaf-Der) on the grounds that it was “conducting activities on behalf of the terrorist organization Hizbollah.”[25] The decision was confirmed by theCourt of Cassation on 11 May 2012.[26]
In late 2012, the Movement of the Oppressed announced its will to found a political party, to challenge the hegemony of the left-wing andKurdish nationalistPeace and Democracy Party.[27] On 17 December 2012, the Free Cause Party (Hür Dava Partisi) was founded.[28] On 9 January 2013, the general headquarters inAnkara was opened.[29]
Societies affiliated with HÜDA PAR operate under the umbrella organisation Lovers of the Prophet (Turkish:Peygamber Sevdalıları,Kurdish:Evindarên Pêyxamber) particularly active in Kurdish Mawlid meetings.[30]
The party supported the rulingPeople's Alliance in the elections of 2023.[34] The party cooperated with AKP in some cities in the local elections of 2024.
The party has been described as "an extreme Islamist party" and as "the political wing of the Iranian-backedKurdish Hizbullah".[35][36] The Association for Solidarity with Mustazafs (Turkish:Oppressed) (Mustazaf-Der) was established in 2004 to support those arrested and their families as a result of the police operation named as Beykoz Operation targeting Hezbollah. The association was closed in 2012 on the grounds that it was a continuation of Hezbollah. After the association was closed, then, since it was difficult to close political parties in Turkey, Movement of the Oppressed (Turkish:Mustazaflar Hareketi) continued its activities by founding the Free Cause Party.[37][38][39]
Free Cause Party calls for theconstitutional recognition of theKurds andKurdish language, mother tongue education, the end to the 10 percent election threshold, and the decentralization of state power and strengthening of local administration.[40] The party also advocates for restrictions on the freedom of religion and worship to be lifted, the headscarf ban ended, wants adultery criminalized, and religious marriages to be recognized.[41] Moreover, the party demands that the Turkish state apologize to Kurds and reinstatethe original names of Kurdish-populated places.[42] The party has largely been silent on the question of Kurdish autonomy or independence from Turkey.[43] The party isopposed to LGBT rights, and routinely denounces theHDP, a left-wing party supporting Kurdish minority rights, for supporting it.[11][12] Despite forming from a splinter group that made promises to end armed struggle, third-party sources describe the party as strongly affiliated with theKurdish Hezbollah.[44][45][46] The party denies these allegations as they have condemned violence multiple times and rejected any links with militant groups.[47] Some[who?] have pointed out that the party's abbreviation, "Hüda-Par", is synonymous with "Hezbollah", both meaning "Party of God".[48] The party accuse allegations of terrorism against HÜDA PAR andDEM Party as unlawful.[49]
^Hüdâ translates to "God", or perhaps more accurately "The Lord", a substitution for the wordAllah.[23] Therefore, the party's self-styled abbreviation reads "Party of God".
^"What Turkey's Elections Mean for Kurdish Women".kurdishpeace.org.Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved18 May 2023."Nowhere is this more clear than in the AKP’s alliance with the far-right Islamist Free Cause Party (HUDA-PAR)."
^Girit, Selin (11 May 2023)."Turkey elections: Young voters who could decide Turkey's future".BBC News. Istanbul. Retrieved12 May 2023.One of the party's in his People's Alliance is an extreme Islamist party called Huda Par (Free Cause) and that has raised concerns among female MPs in his own AK Party.
^"Hüda- Par'dan 9 ilde bağımsız aday".Al Jazeera Turk - Ortadoğu, Kafkasya, Balkanlar, Türkiye ve çevresindeki bölgeden son dakika haberleri ve analizler (in Turkish).Al Jazeera. Retrieved10 April 2020.
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