Hayrunnisa Gul To Withdraw The Case At ECHR

ANKARA - Hayrunnisa Gul, the wife of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, has said, ``I decided to withdraw the case I had filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The fundamental reason of my decision is not to pave ways to discussion of decisions of jurisdiction and to provide confidence and respect.``
Gul stressed that she still believed that she was rightful to file the case.
Releasing a statement on Monday, Gul reminded that she had applied to the ECHR individually by using her legal rights as a citizen of the Republic of Turkey.
``However, my application to the ECHR whose authority of judgment was also recognized by Turkey, considered by some circles as if I perpetrated a crime, and misused politically. In fact, I used my right to apply to the ECHR individually as a citizen of the Republic of Turkey. It was totally legal. However, I became both defendant and plaintiff in this case since my husband has been serving as the minister of foreign affairs. We could not envisage it in such a historic process. When I applied to the ECHR, my husband was not serving as the minister of foreign affairs. The fundamental reason of my decision is not to pave ways to discussion of decisions of jurisdiction and to provide confidence and respect. Unfortunately, my case was politicized. Similar cases have still been on agenda of the ECHR. I want to stress that I still believe that I was rightful to file the case,`` she said.
Hayrunnisa Gul wanted to enroll in the Ankara University Faculty of Language, History and Geography Department of Arab Language and Literature in 1998. However, her enrollment was not carried out since she was wearing Islamic-style headscarf. After trying all domestic jurisdiction remedies, Gul applied to the ECHR.
(UK) 01.03.2004