Nurse dismissed from civil service over ‘hair braiding’ protest despite acquittal
A nurse at a public hospital in Kocaeli, northwestern Turkey, has been dismissed from the civil service over a social media post showing her braiding her hair in solidarity with a Kurdish woman killed in Syria earlier this year.
İkra Avcı was briefly detained on Jan 26 and stood trial for "terror propaganda" due to her action. She was eventually acquitted.
She announced her dismissal yesterday on social media, saying she had joined the protest to speak out against violence and killings targeting women:
“I have been dismissed from my profession as a nurse. I braided my hair to protest the killing of women, violence and femicides. The price I paid was my profession. I will never forgive this injustice.”
The case dates back to January, when a video circulated on social media showing a member of the Syrian interim government forces displaying the severed braid of a fighter from the Kurdish Women's Defense Units (YPJ) in northern Syria during clashes between the two groups.
Kurdish women launched a social media campaign following the incident, posting images of their braided hair on social media. They were joined by women from many countries.
Desecration of Kurdish woman fighter's body sparks hair braiding campaign on social media
Avcı also joined the protest by posting a short video.
Authorities opened both a judicial and an administrative investigation over the post, and Avcı was suspended from her job.
Several people at the time were subject to criminal investigations on "terror propaganda" allegations at the time.
Court denies release of 16-year-old girl detained over hair-braiding protest posts
A court in Kocaeli acquitted Avcı on May 21.
The disciplinary investigation continued independently of the criminal proceedings, however, and resulted in Avcı’s dismissal from the civil service.
Under Turkey’s Civil Servants Law No. 657, dismissal from the civil service is imposed by an institution’s High Disciplinary Board. Avcı’s case was decided by the Health Ministry’s High Disciplinary Board.
The date, reference number and reasoning of the board’s decision have not been made public. No official explanation has been provided specifying which provision of the Health Ministry’s disciplinary rules was deemed to justify punishment for conduct that did not result in a criminal conviction.
Avcı is expected to challenge the administrative decision in court. (AEK/VK)
