Turkish Cypriot lawyers demonstrate against Erdogan threats

Turkish Cypriot lawyers staged a demo on Monday morning to protest Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s threats after a court in the north terminated the teaching of the Quran in schools.

Wielding photographs of the founder of the Turkish republic, Kemal Ataturk, protesters expressed their support for justice in the north and its independence.

Head of the ‘supreme court’ Narin Ferdi Sefik supported the protest, saluting the lawyers from her office balcony.

On Friday Erdogan threatened Turkish Cypriots with repercussions after a court terminated the teaching of the Quran in schools.

According to Turkish Cypriot news agency TAK, Erdogan said the president of the court must quickly rectify his mistake.

“If he does not, the steps we will take will be different in the next period, they should know that too,” TAK quoted Erdogan as saying.

The decision, published on Friday, followed an appeal against granting a “religious affairs committee” the authority to decide the curriculum.

The court found that it was in violation of a provision relating to secularism and another that said religious education was administered by the state.