Kazim Kurnaz, a high-school geography teacher who was dismissed by a decree issued by the Turkish government in the aftermath of a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, died on Feb 1 in a construction accident in Duzce province, MedyaBold reported this week.

According to the report, Kurnaz (34) died after falling down the elevator shaft in the construction site he was working at.

Two months after his death, Kazim Kurnaz was acquitted of post-coup terrorism charges that led to his dismissal from the public service in the first place.

Kurnaz was not allowed to work in any school after being released because, like everyone who was expelled by the Decree or was arrested with allegations of being a member of the Hizmet Movement, he was stigmatized as `Gulenist. A job cannot be given!’. Private business owners, who do not want to get into trouble with the regime, do not give jobs to those under the regime’s radar for fear of confiscating their workplaces in Erdogan’s Turkey. 

The Turkish government has purged more than 150,000 state officials, including judges, prosecutors, doctors, academics and teachers, as part of the witch-hunt targeting the Gulen Movement since a failed coup on July 15, 2016.

Dismissed or suspended civil servants have been prohibited from securing a job in other public institutions, while many teachers’ diplomas were also cancelled. Since most of the private sector is concerned about government pressure, they prefer not to employ fired public workers.

In order to survive, many purged civil servants and others have become unregistered market vendors or labourers on farms, for construction companies and the like

Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pinned the blame on the Hizmet Movement. The movement denies any involvement.

Source:

https://turkeypurge.com/dismissed-geography-teacher-dies-as-construction-worker-in-turkeys-duzce