Saral Removed from Office Under Azerbaijan Pressure, Says 'Yes, It Appears So'

Presidential Adviser Oktay Saral was removed from office after a social media post criticizing the headscarf ban in Azerbaijani schools. Saral personally confirmed his removal to journalist Talat Atilla; when asked 'Was it because of your statements about Azerbaijan?' he replied 'Yes, it appears so.' The following day he said he had 'resigned.'

Saral's post on October 12 stated 'The blocking of hijab-wearing students' right to education in Azerbaijan is unacceptable!' The New Azerbaijan Party accused Saral on October 13 of 'failing to understand the essence of the matter' and 'interfering in Azerbaijan's internal affairs.' London-based Middle East Eye reported that the Azerbaijani government had directly requested that Turkey remove Saral from his position.

Following the decision, Rovshan Mammadov, chairman of the board of Azerbaijan State Television AZTV, said on air 'Both states this time demonstrated principled positions.' New Azerbaijan Party deputy Hikmet Babaoğlu warned in comments to redaktor.az that 'anyone who wants to damage the Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood will face the consequences of our common national will.'

Strong reactions came from Turkey's opposition. Yeniden Refah Party Chair Fatih Erbakan asked 'Should we witness our President, who says the world is bigger than five, bowing to Ilham Aliyev?' Political scientist Burak Bilgehan Özpek pointed out that when Saral previously used abusive language toward opposition groups his position continued, emphasizing that this removal constitutes a significant threshold for Turkish Republic citizens. Assessments on the matter were reported by Cumhuriyet Newspaper.