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| The Grand Turk |
| Turkish PM's aide who kicked protester sacked |
| 2014-05-25 |
| [The Peninsula] An aide to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who made front page news around the world after being filmed kicking a protester in the wake of Turkey's worst ever mining accident has been sacked, a government official said on Saturday. Footage earlier this month showing Yusuf Yerkel apparently lashing out at the man - who was being held on the ground by two security officers - sparked widespread outrage and came to symbolise the government's widely criticised handling of the disaster, in which more than 300 people died. Despite expressing regret for what happened, Yerkel was sacked by Erdogan earlier this week, although news of the decision only emerged at the weekend, the official told Rooters. "Yusuf Yerkel apologised but it was too late. At the end of the discussion the Prime Minister fired him directly," the source said. The incident had threatened to become a major embarrassment for Erdogan, who is already under heavy fire himself. During the same visit to Soma he became embroiled in angry altercations with protesters, who were expressing rage at Turkey's poor work safety record. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 "Under the bus, |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-05-25 12:49 |