Ministry assigns inspector as governor denies ‘insulting’ late Turkish teacher

ANKARA/YALOVA

Teachers march to protest Yalova governor, calling on him to resign. AA Photo

The Interior Ministry has assigned a civil inspector to investigate the death of a teacher who died of a heart attack after a local governor reprimanded him for his physical appearance.

Authorities will decide whether to take legal action against Yalova Governor Selim Cebiroğlu after receiving a report from the inspector, who is expected to question both sides involved in the incident which saw teacher Halil Serkan Öz die of a heart attack during a demonstration to protest the governor’s “insult” against him.

Cebiroğlu reportedly met with Interior Minister Sebahattin Öztürk in the western city and relayed information to him about the incident one day after Öz died.

Cebiroğlu reportedly said he wanted a probe to be opened so as to reveal the truth.

Meanwhile, Cebiroğlu said he did not insult Öz but warned him, saying that it was a move which did not comply with his creation.

“Öz’s class was the fourth or fifth class that I visited. I visited because noise was coming [from the class]. We had warned our dear teacher in accordance with the legislation. This warning composed of only two or three sentences,” Cebiroğlu was quoted by Anadolu Agency. “After visiting the class, we had a warm chat with all teachers, including him, in the teacher’s room.”

“We don’t have a luxury such as insulting, also I don’t have the ego [for it],” he said, adding Öz would not have come to the teacher’s room for the chat if the governor had insulted him.

42-year-old Öz, an award-winning mathematics teacher at Termal Science High School in Yalova, suddenly collapsed due to a heart attack while attending a demonstration on April 3 against the governor’s “insult” on him.

 “What’s this hair, this beard? What kind of teacher are you? People who see you in the street would think that you are a beggar,” Cebiroğlu was quoted by Turkish media as saying to Öz.