Turkiye’s Zorlu says CEO resigns after probe into Ramazan email

ANKARA: Turkiye’s Zorlu Holding said late on Saturday its chief executive Cem Koksal had resigned, after authorities launched a probe into an email exchange for allegedly limiting freedom of belief over the celebration of the Muslim holy month of Ramazan.

On Friday, Ergun Guler, chief executive of electronics firm Vestel VESTL.IS, which is a subsidiary of Zorlu Holding, sent a message to employees celebrating the start of Ramazan, which began on Saturday.

Koksal later sent an internal email saying the company only celebrated Eidul Fitr and Eidul Azha officially, not Ramazan, and that it wanted to maintain a secular stance as it worked to become a multinational corporation, with employees from various beliefs and origins. After images of that email were circulated by local media and on social media, an Istanbul prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the issue, the state-owned Anadolu news agency said, adding that Koksal was detained on Saturday for “obstructing the exercise of freedom of belief, thought, and expression”.

In a statement, Zorlu Holding later said it ackowledged the “sensitivity” caused by the “internal argument over management principles”, and that Koksal had resigned as of March 1. “It is known to the public that Zorlu Holding has been an institution with family values and business ethics since 1953, and has been integrated with the national and spiritual values of our country,” it said.