Erdogan's top adviser fired after criticizing Azerbaijan's hijab ban Oktay Sarel, the top adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has confirmed his dismissal. This happened after he criticized the hijab restrictions in the schools of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In an interview with a Turkish journalist, Sharel announced that he resigned from his position on Erdogan's order and in response to the question of whether this decision was related to his statements about the Republic of Azerbaijan, he said: "Yes, probably so." Earlier, there were reports that Baku asked Ankara to remove Cherel; However, this request has not been officially approved by the authorities of the two countries.