Petition supports Turkish governor dismissed after cycling tights row

A Turkish governor removed from office after controversy over images of him cycling in sports tights has received support from thousands of people calling for him to be reinstated.

Mehmet Fatih Cicekli, governor of Turkey's northeastern Ardahan province, was dismissed under a presidential decree issued on July 17. The decree did not give a reason for his removal. Media reports and public debate linked the decision to social media videos and photographs that Cicekli had shared of himself cycling in tights.

An online petition on Change.org titled "Ardahan Governor Mehmet Fatih Cicekli Should Remain in Office" has received more than 8,300 signatures.

The issue was also debated in parliament this month. AFP reported that even a lawmaker from the main opposition CHP party called for Cicekli to be removed.

Cicekli, a public servant appointed by the government, defended the outfit at the time as standard cycling clothing. He said the clothes were sports clothes and that he does sport in sports clothes. Asked what he planned to do after his dismissal, he said he would keep pedalling.