Cem Koksal, CEO of Turkish multinational conglomerate Zorlu Holding, was fired from his position and detained by police for preventing his employees from “exercising freedom of belief, thought and opinion” during Ramadan, Bloomberg reported citing state-run Anadolu Agency.
An investigation was launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office after images of an email by Koksal went viral on social media.
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Koksal’s email to employees
The dispute began after Ergun Guler, CEO of Zorlu Holding’s subsidiary Vestel Elektronik, sent an email to employees to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Koksal had responded to Guler’s email via an internal email, saying that the beginning of the holy month was “not on the company’s list of days to be celebrated corporately”.
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“Only the religious holidays, Seker Eid and Eid Al Adha are included. It is not appropriate for us to corporately celebrate religious days other than these,” Koksal’s email further stated.
For the unversed, the secular side of Türkiye’s political spectrum refuses to use the name “Ramadan.” Instead, the term “Seker” (sugar) is used to refer to the sweets collected by children on the first day of Eid.
According to Turkish publication Haberturk, Koksal added that Guler had been warned previously over a similar issue.
What happened after the email
Koksal’s email, which went viral, sparked public backlash, leading to calls for a boycott of Zorlu Holding’s brands.
Zorlu announced Koksal’s resignation effective March 1. The company in a statement described the issue as a “sensitivity that arose as a result of an internal discussion regarding management principles” between Koksal and Guler.
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The company also stated, “As Zorlu Group, we express our regrets to all our stakeholders and the public for these developments.”
Further, Turkish Police even detained Koksal as part of its investigation.
In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said, “An investigation has been initiated ex officio by our Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the incident where Zorlu Holding CEO Cem Koksal sent an email to all employees instructing them not to celebrate the month of Ramadan, which was reflected in some social and visual media outlets. He is being investigated for the crime of ‘preventing the exercise of freedom of belief, thought, and conscience.’”
