Feyzioğlu: Don’t Expect Me to be Sympathetic to Nuriye, Semih

Click to read the article in Turkish

Union of Turkish Bar Associations Chair Metin Feyzioğlu was featured as a guest on the radio program "Bir de Bunu Dinle" on RS FM.

Referring to academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça, who have been on hunger strike demanding that they be reinstated to their jobs, he said that "Nobody should expect me to be sympathetic to Nuriye and Semih".

"The state is obliged to intervene in the situation of someone on hunger strike"

"When a hunger striker loses his or her consciousness, the state is obliged to intervene in the situation to prevent that person's death.

"Nobody shall expect me to show a father-like sympathy towards Nuriye and Semih".

Response by Semih Özakça

Semih Özakça has issued a statement on Twitter upon Feyzioğlu's words:

"He knows that if he sympathizes, he will get arrested. If he empathizes, he cannot curry favor with the government. We are within the people, we are children of the people. One has to tell Feyzioğlu: 'who are you'.

"I don't know if there is such an expectation but nobody should expect us to be sympathetic towards declaring Feyzioğlu our father". (EKN/TK)