Lieutenant who criticized TOGG dismissed! Dismissal decision later overturned

A lieutenant serving at the Army Aviation School had been dismissed due to a WhatsApp message he shared with his peers on August 5, 2023. The message contained the phrase "...only the government can ride in it..." regarding Turkey's first domestic automobile, TOGG. Following this post, an investigation was launched into the lieutenant, and the High Disciplinary Board of the Land Forces Command dismissed him from the military on June 11, 2024, on charges of "engaging in behavior that hinders service."

However, the lieutenant appealed this decision and filed a lawsuit.

The Konya 3rd Administrative Court unanimously overturned the dismissal decision on January 16, 2025. The court emphasized that before a disciplinary penalty is imposed, actions must be clearly defined, and that maintaining a fair balance between the offense and the penalty is a requirement of the rule of law.

In its ruling, the court stated that administrations must pay attention to the principle of proportionality when determining disciplinary penalties.

Furthermore, it was stated that no concrete evidence was presented to suggest that the lieutenant's posts carried a political motive, and therefore the disciplinary penalty was disproportionate.

For these reasons, the court ruled that the dismissal decision was unlawful.

News Source: 12punto