Cleaning worker fired for insulting Erdoğan and PM

ÇANAKKALE

Local authorities in western Turkey have recently put pressure on a private firm to fire a cleaning worker for “insulting” both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on her Facebook page, Doğan News Agency reported on March 9, citing a confidential document.

The Public Health Directorate of the governorate in Çanakkale province sent the document last year to its subcontractor for cleaning services, indicating Facebook messages sent by one of its workers. The document states that the messages were relayed to the directorate by an informer, before asking the firm “to do what is necessary” by Dec. 18, 2014.

The firm declined to fire the worker, citing freedom of expression rights, but the administration then reopened the tender for subcontracting cleaning services, which was granted to another firm.

The new subcontractor then fired the worker, Doğan News Agency reported.

Scores of people in Turkey have been detained or have testified for “insulting” Erdoğan or Davutoğlu over the past few months. Defendants include prominent journalist Can Dündar, former Miss Turkey Merve Büyüksaraç, singer-turned-Twitter-activist Atilla Taş, and several teenagers.