Fatih Altaylı reacts sharply to the detention of Cem Köksal: 'Are we forced to be religious?'

Zorlu Holding CEO Cem Köksal, who was detained on the grounds that he sent an email to his employees regarding not celebrating the month of Ramadan, was released the previous day under judicial control. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched an ex officio investigation into Köksal for the crime of "obstructing the exercise of freedom of belief, thought, and opinion." Köksal had been detained as part of the investigation.

Journalist Fatih Altaylı made assessments regarding the detention of Cem Köksal over an internal company email. On his YouTube channel, Altaylı stated, "Is a rule like this coming soon? Are you going to launch investigations against those who do not send a 'Happy Friday' tweet or message to at least 2-3 people on Fridays?"

The prominent part of Altaylı's statements is as follows:

"I do not find what the Zorlu CEO did to be right. I don't find it right from this perspective; why are you sending an email? If there is something regarding company rules, call and say it. As a CEO, you should have thought that when you send this in writing, it could fall into the hands of malicious people and a ridiculous campaign could be started against you, but honestly, no one would think it would reach this point. What is it to you? It is an internal company matter of these people. Are we forced to be religious? Even worse, to appear religious, to pose as religious... Is a rule like this coming soon; on Fridays, a 'Happy Friday' tweet or message to at least 2-3 people. Are you going to launch investigations against those who don't?"