Turkish Airlines bans ‘Heroes’ children’s kits amid coup controversy

İsmail Saymaz - ISTANBUL

Turkey’s flagship carrier Turkish Airlines has stopped producing its “Heroes” kits for children, following a recent controversy after a jailed suspect in the coup attempt case attended a court hearing wearing a T-shirt with a “Hero” lego.
 
The company changed the “Hero” named kit - which was introduced in 2014 and included slippers, earphones, and socks - to another name and halted distribution of its “Hero” magazine for children. 

Turkish Airlines Press Counsellor Yahya Üstün claimed that the company had taken the decision six months ago.

“We were already involved in some works regarding the brand for the last six months. But when the ‘hero’ issue emerged, we accelerated the process,” Üstün said. 

Gökhan Güçlü, who is a suspect in the case into an assassination attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, hit headlines after appearing in July in a court in the Aegean province of Muğla wearing a T-shirt with a “Hero” logo.

An investigation was immediately launched into the incident leading to five personnel from the Muğla E-Type Prison being suspended by the Justice Ministry. 

A number of other people were subsequently detained by police across Turkey for wearing t-shirts bearing “Hero” logos.

An investigation was also launched against Güçlü’s sister, who is believed to have sent the T-shirt to the prison.