A Turkish judge who criticised a female lawyer over the length of her skirt during a hearing has been suspended amid widespread outrage over his remarks.
The judge, Mehmet Yoylu, also allegedly demanded to take a picture of lawyer Tugce Cetin’s attire in his Istanbul courtroom, and wanted to refer her to the bar association for review, arguing that the skirt was higher than the regulated 15cm above her knees.
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He was thwarted. Instead, the incident on Thursday prompted other lawyers in the courthouse, which deals with workplace and labour disputes, to stage a protest.
“Women are waiting for an apology from you,” they reportedly chanted.
“Not the skirt, the mind is short,” ran a headline in the mass-circulation daily Cumhuriyet.
“What kind of disgrace is this! Instead of looking at lawyers’ legs, look at the file in front of you!” lawyer Feyza Altun said in an Instagram post. “We won’t leave this country to religious zealots.”
