Police Raid Houses of Protesters on Yüksel Street Demanding Their Jobs Back

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Police have raided the houses of Veli Saçılık protesting with the motto "I want my job back" and Esra Özakça on hunger strike who is the wife of teacher Semih Özakça arrested while he was also protesting on a hunger strike demanding to be reinstated to his position as well as
protesters Acun Karadağ, Nazife Onay, Nazan Bozkurt and Abidin Sırma.

Reporting about the police raid on the social media, Veli Saçılık shared that police were searching his house and that he was not at home.

"Nuriye-Semih will live. Resistance forever", Saçılık added and mentioned also the possibility of being arrested on his video-message

Esra Özakça had also reported that they were taken into custody together with Nazife Onay while walking on the street among many others detained as well and are being charged with "being a member of an illegal organization".

Discharged through statutory decree

Veli Saçılk whose arm had been ripped off in an operation carried in Burdur Prison on July 5, 2000 was discharged from his position in Ankara Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Policies where he worked as a sociologist through the Statutory Decree No. 677 on November 22, 2016.

Nazife Onay as well was discharged from her teacher position in Çağlayan Zuhal High School through the Statutory Decree No. 686 issued under the State of Emergency.

Acun Karadağ was discharged from his position through the Statutory Decree No. 675 on October 29, 2016. Karadağ who is a member of the Education and Science Workers' Union was taken into custody several times while demonstrating and he later joined the protest on Yüksel Street in Ankara together with other academics and teachers discharged from their positions through statutory decrees as well and demanded to be reinstated to their jobs.

Academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça are under arrest since May 23 and they are on the 121th day of their hunger strike. Semih Özakça's wife Esra Özakça who was discharged from her position as well is on the 46th day of her hunger strike as of today (July 7. (AS/DG)