"The court ruled to grant us an additional 30 days to prepare our response to the indictment," Hamit Geylani, who coordinates the Democratic Society Party's (DTP) legal affairs, told AFP. "As a result, we will be submitting our written response on February 10."

Turkey's chief prosecutor asked the Constitutional Court in November to outlaw the DTP, saying it had become "a hive of activity" against national unity through its links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

The DTP, which holds 20 seats in the 550-member parliament, rejects accusations of links with the PKK but has come under fire for refusing to brand it a terrorist group and for voicing sympathy for the rebels.

The legal proceedings come against a backdrop of Turkish military action against PKK targets in neighbouring northern Iraq since December 16, prompted by increased rebel violence last year.

Turkey has in the past banned several Kurdish parties for alleged links with the rebels.