Detentions over 'Hero' t-shirts continue in Turkey
Detentions in Turkey over the ‘Hero’ t-shirts have continued since its start earlier in July after a suspect of the coup case attended his trial at court with a t-shirt written ‘Hero’ on it.
As authorities in Turkey see it as a secret message of the followers of the Fethullah Gülen’s movement – the alleged group behing the failed coup – dozens of people in a number of provinces across the country have been taken into custody simply for having the same t-shirt on.
Over the weekend, a college student wearing a t-shirt that said ‘part-time hero’ on it was also taken into custody.
Previously, a young waitor working at a hotel in Antalya had even been arrested over it as he testified that ‘he knew about the reports but did not think of them as so significant’.
Among the dozens of people who have been stopped by security officers and taken to the police department for wearing a t-shirt with the same message are two factory workers in Sakarya; a young couple in Antalya; and, a 17 year old child in Çanakkale.
A student was also taken to police department by officers from the counter terrorism unit as he was walking out from a college exam in Adana.
Latest reports were received on Tuesday (August 1). Accordingly, a tourist from Azarbaijan was deported from the country while he was visiting the northeastern province of Kars with the same t-shirt on.
In a statement delivered last week, government spokesperson Bekir Bozdağ had said treatment of ‘those wearing it for propaganda and those not knowing about it’ will be different.
The message is thought to be linked to Fethullah Gülen’s article published in the Fountain Magazine, after the failed coup, with the title of ‘Despair and Heroes’.
Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/hero-tisortu-giyen-azeri-sinir-disi-edildi-172693.html