Deceased healthcare worker removed from job by decree reinstated years later

A healthcare worker, who was dismissed with a state of emergency decree, was reinstated to his post after he passed away. The incident was criticized by opposition lawmakers, with a HDP deputy saying that his party will keep following the developments on the issue.

Duvar English

Bülent Uçar, former co-leader of theMalatya provincial branch of the Healthcare Workers Union (SES), wasdismissed by an official government decree from his position at astate hospital in Malatya in 2016, while Turkey was under state ofemergency. Uçar died of a heart attack four months later, yetpuzzlingly was recently returned to his position by an official stateof emergency commission, according to news reports this week.

“The state of emergency commissiondecided that Bülent Uçar had no legal investigations or proceedingsagainst him, also determining that he had no relationship with anyillegal organization or structure. With all his rights, he wasreturned to his position as a public employee. Well what about hisright to live? Will those who stole Bülent's right to live pay theprice?” said SES co-leader Gönül Erden in a statement.

According to Erden, Uçar passed awayfollowing a difficult period where after being dismissed from hisjob,was subjected to government propaganda and was unable to find newwork.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) former deputy Barış Yarkadaş tweeted about the commission's decision last month, which was made on September 26, according to an official document he shared in his tweet. Yarkadaş described the affair by saying that justice delayed is justice denied.

“After you are removed from your jobby decree, you become someone who is deprived of everything, anunknown secret terrorist, and none of your friends call you. Therehave been 60 people who have been removed from their jobs by decreewho have committed suicide,” said pro-Kurdish, opposition People'sDemocratic Party (HDP) Deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu in astatement.

Gergerlioğlu added that as a doctorwho also was removed from his position in a public hospital bydecree, he knew very well what Uçar had gone through, and said thatthe HDP would pursue this matter to the end.

During an extended period of state ofemergency that went into effect after the coup attempt of July 2016,more than 100,000 state employees were dismissed from their jobs viaofficial government decrees.

Though a significant segment of this figure consisted of those accused of being followers of the exiled US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, which the government refers to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) and considers to be behind the coup, thousands of other workers who were labor union members or known for their leftist or opposition views also were stripped from their posts.