‘I Shared a Quote with a Picture of Fidel Castro, I Have Lost My Job’

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Evrim Çakmak, a trainer at Hozat Public Training Center in Dersim, has announced that after she shared a picture of Fidel Castro along with the sentence "If we are defeated, we will stand up and try again; if dictators are defeated, it will be their end", she has been dismissed from her job.

We contacted Hozat Public Training Center Acting Director Uğur Kaptantoğrul, who undersigned the dismissal document of Çakmak. However, he did not want to comment on the issue.

Çakmak shared a picture of Fidel Castro on the Whatsapp group of the center along with the sentence, "If we are defeated, we will stand up and try again; if dictators are defeated, it will be their end."

Evrim Çakmak was accused of "insulting the President" by her executives for having shared this message. Çakmak said that she shared the picture to comment on the situation in Venezuela and it did not have anything to do with Turkey. However, Evrim Çakmak was dismissed from her job with a document undersigned by Kaptantoğrul.

As the reason for her dismissal, the document stated, "As it has been understood that you do not perform the acts and actions required by your duty in a proper manner and you do not display the manners, attitude and dignity expected from public officials..."

Speaking to bianet, Evrim Çakmak has said, "They wanted me to obey. When I did not accept it, they dismissed me." Çakmak has also added that she will take a legal action to be reinstated in her job.

'I stand behind my message'

Speaking to the local daily Tunceli Emek (Labor), Evrim Çakmak previously recounted that after she shared the message in question, she was summoned by Hozat District National Education Director Mustafa Gürbüz, who insulted her by saying, "You called the leader of our country a dictator," to which Çakmak answered, "I did not say that."

"Coming down on me, he told me 'we know you said that to him and you have to admit that'," Evrim Çakmak recounted further and added,

"I told him that I shared it about something that happened in Venezuela. Nevertheless, he did not believe me and threatened me. He told me that he would dismiss me, I could not benefit from public training for the rest of my life and I could not work as a public official, either.

"He told me that he would file a criminal complaint against me at the Prosecutor's Office and forbid me from doing my job."

After Çakmak answered, "I do not think that I did something wrong. I stand behind what I did. I definitely did not imply our Dear President. It is what you said," Director Gürbüz forced her out of his room. Shortly afterwards, she learned that she were dismissed from her job. (AS/SD)