Aysel Demirel, a member of Turkey’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, has criticized Muharrem İnce, presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), for his changing views on the headscarf, the Cumhuriyet daily reported.
Claiming that İnce was against reforms in 2013 and 2014 that allowed students to attend school wearing headscarves but that after becoming a presidential candidate changed his views and defended freedom for headscarved women in state institutions as well. Demirel tweeted on Friday:
“Yes, thank God, the headscarf is no longer an issue despite your true intentions and efforts, which you try to hide today. We have not forgotten and will not forget what people like Muharrem İnce made us experience in the past.”
Following blowback that Demirel’s tweets were a violation of the impartiality of the judiciary, she deleted her tweet.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2014 appointed Demirel, a lawyer, to Turkey’s Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). In June 2017, Demirel was appointed to the Council of State by Erdoğan following a constitutional referendum on April 16, 2017.
Demirel’s Twitter timeline includes messages supportive of Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Demirel on May 14 retweeted a message that describes Jews as a “cursed nation” after the killings of Palestinians during a protest against the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
