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Ankara: Turkey's top court on Thursday annulled a reform that would allow students to wear Muslim headscarves at university, a serious blow to the ruling party's efforts to avert being shut down for Islamist activities.
The Constitutional Court said in a statement it upheld an appeal from an opposition party, which sought to block an amendment passed by parliament in February that would have allowed students to wear the garment on campus, a move secularists said would undermine the secular state.
The headscarf reform plays a central role in a separate court case that seeks to shut down the AK Party for anti-secular activities, and ban 71 members, including the prime minister and the president, from belonging to a political party for five years.
The Constitutional Court said the headscarf reform was contrary to secular principles in the constitution, a ruling analysts say is bound to strengthen the case to shut the AK Party.
The Turkish lira weakened against the dollar on the news, with markets fearing prolonged political uncertainty in the European Union applicant country.
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek was reported as saying he would comment once he had read the court's ruling.
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