15.11.2026 20:10
It was alleged that İ.Ö., the Pazar District Health Director in Rize, was forced to resign because he rejected the appointment request of AK Party District Chairman Furkan Namlı, and was subsequently removed from his post. Following the allegations, YENİ Party Rize Provincial Chairman Saltuk Deniz, saying "Institutional administrators are not your servants," demanded that the doctor be reinstated to his post.
It has been alleged that İ.Ö., who was removed from his post at the Pazar District Health Directorate in Rize, was forced to resign in recent days on the grounds that he did not accept the visit request of AK Party Pazar District Chairman Furkan Namlı. NEW Party Rize Provincial Chairman Saltuk Deniz demanded that İ.Ö. be reinstated to his post and told AK Party officials, 'Institution heads are not your servants.'
REFUSED THE APPOINTMENT REQUEST
According to the information obtained, on August 4, 2026, AK Party Pazar District Chairman Furkan Namlı and accompanying board members requested an appointment by phone from the Pazar District Health Directorate as part of institutional visits. It was alleged that District Health Director Dr. İ.Ö. stated after the first request that he was not available, and in the second phone conversation stated that he was a public official subject to Law No. 657 on Civil Servants and would not meet with political party district chairs in his office.
ALLEGATION THAT 'REMOVAL FROM OFFICE WAS REQUESTED'
It was argued that AK Party officials in Rize conveyed this to Provincial Health Director Prof. Dr. Gökhan Demiral and requested that Dr. İ.Ö. be removed from office or resign; afterwards, Dr. İ.Ö. was advised to resign, but the district health director did not accept this. Dr. İ.Ö. was removed from the District Health Directorate some time later. Employees of the Pazar District Health Directorate also claimed that Dr. İ.Ö. was pressured to resign.
NEW PARTY: INSTITUTION HEADS ARE NOT YOUR SERVANTS
NEW Party Rize Provincial Chairman Saltuk Deniz reacted to the allegation that Dr. İ.Ö. was removed from the Pazar District Health Directorate. Emphasizing that administrators working in public institutions are not in the service of political party representatives, Deniz made the following statement: 'Our officials working in state institutions are not servants of political party representatives. Institution heads are not obliged to meet with any political party representative outside their duties. Similar incidents have occurred in our province before. As soon as Halil İbrahim Akmeşe was appointed to the Rize Provincial National Education Directorate, before even sitting in his chair, he headed straight to the AKP Provincial Presidency. These are not right things. Institution heads are not your servants. Leave employees alone. We believe that disrupting workplace peace in institutions and intimidating other institution employees by removing or suspending heads and civil servants from their duties using your political power is incompatible with political ethics. On behalf of the public, we request AKP spokespeople and the Provincial Health Directorate to make a statement on this issue and that our doctor, who was removed from his post, be reinstated.'