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Mother of educator on hunger strike detained by police

The mother of Semih Özakça, a primary school teacher who went on a hunger strike after he was fired by government decree in the aftermath of a July 15 coup attempt in Turkey,has been detained.

Özakça’s mother, Sultan, was detained along with eight others late on Thursday on Ankara’s Yüksel Street, where Özakça and academic Nuriye Gülmen, who was also removed from her post by government decree, have been standing vigil.

The detainees were in the area to show support for the two educators who have been on a hunger strike for more than two months.

Gülmen was fired from Konya Selçuk University for her alleged ties to the Gülen movement. Meanwhile, Özakça was a teacher at a primary school in Turkey’s eastern province of Mardin before he was purged over ties to a terrorist organization.

The two protested for months in the same area before they started their hunger strike. Both have been detained several times due to their protests.

Thousands of academics and teachers have been removed from their jobs since the July 15 coup attempt as part of a post-coup purge launched by the government under the pretext of an anti-coup fight.

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