Policemen dismissed from profession for forming union

ISTANBUL

Faruk Sezer. DHA Photo

Six policemen have been dismissed from the profession while 39 colleagues have been put under investigation for forming Turkey’s first ever police union, Emniyet-Sen.

Chairman Faruk Sezer, General-Secretary İrfan Çelik, Deputy Chairman Ömer Osman Seyhan, as well as Metin Karakuş, Ahmet Akın and Metehan Aydın, were all dismissed from the profession for their involvement with Emniyet-Sen.

The officers in question were punished because security force personnel are not permitted to engage in union activities, the Police Department said.

The union released a statement following the controversial decision, saying the dismissal of the officers from the profession was “completely unlawful.” The statement also condemned the punishment and called for the Interior Ministry and the Labor Ministry to intervene “against this unlawful act.”

The founding members of the union had been subjected to an investigation even before the union was formed, as a legal process was opened against the union before a petition was submitted to the governor’s office. Two inspectors were appointed in November 2012 to investigate those behind the union on the grounds of Turkish legal regulations and international treaties.

The union currently has over 7,000 members, according to Sezer.