Istanbul teacher makes students pose with nooses, shares post on social media

ISTANBUL

An elementary school teacher working in Istanbul’s Başakşehir district posed with his students holding nooses and shared the picture on his social media account saying they “want justice,” shortly after the Dec. 10 terror attack in Beşiktaş, news website T24 has reported. 

The teacher, identified as Aydın Erekmen, later deleted the picture he shared on Facebook and also de-activated his account after drawing angry reactions. 

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) İzmir deputy Tuncay Özkan drew attention to Erekmen’s post on his Twitter account, urging the authorities to take action and vowing that he too would file a criminal complaint against Erekmen. 

“Action should be taken against whoever this person is, who made a show with death by using children for his dirty political purposes,” said Özkan, calling on the families of the children to also sue the teacher. 

Fellow CHP İzmir deputy, Murat Bakan, has submitted a parliamentary inquiry to Education Minister İsmet Yılmaz over the incident, asking whether any investigation has been opened against Erekmen and, if not, what kind of punitive action will be taken against him.

Bakan also said that allowing individuals like Erekmen to teach children was itself akin to “homicide.”