E.C.H.R. Rules That Turkish Universities Have The Right To Ban Headscarf

STRASBOURG - European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Turkish state universities had the right to ban the headscarf.
Making references to the decision of the Constitutional Court that allowing headscarf in universities was contrary to constitution, ECHR recalled that high administrative courts stated that wearing headscarf in universities contradicted rules of republic.
In their unanimous judgment, the seven judges said headscarf bans were appropriate when issued to protect the secular nature of the state, especially against extremist demands.
''The principle of secularism was surely one of the founding principles of the Turkish state,'' they added. ''Safeguarding this principle can be considered necessary for the protection of the democratic system in Turkey.''
(AY-AÖ) 29.06.2004