The International Press Institute (IPI) and its affiliate South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) said they were deeply troubled by the firing of IPI Turkish National Committee President Kadri Gürsel from his position as a columnist at Milliyet newspaper over a tweet critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.
Gürsel was informed yesterday by the paper’s human resources department that Milliyet was unilaterally terminating its contract with him. “We parted ways with Mr. Ahmet Kadri Gürsel for his stance which damaged our co-working environment,” Milliyet said in a statement released earlier today confirming the move. The statement also accused Gürsel of violating journalistic ethics and displaying a “subversive attitude“, according to reports.
“It is shameful that foreign leaders call and console the person who is the number one cause of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terror in Turkey,” Gürsel tweeted on Tuesday, according to a translation published in the Turkish English-language press. The “person” is understood to refer to Erdo?an.
“I am not surprised,” Gürsel said today of his firing. READ THE REST OF THE IPI STORY HERE…
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