Imposing a Financial Penalty on the Mayor of Bolu for his Racist Decisions Against Refugees 

The Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Equality (TİHEK) ruled that Bolu Municipality’s decision to charge different water and wedding fees for foreigners living in the city violates human rights and constitutes discrimination. Therefore, it was decided to impose an administrative fine of 40 thousand Turkish liras on the municipality of Bolu.

The decision made it clear that Tango Ozcan’s racist rhetoric aims to create a feeling of hostility and rejection for the refugees residing in the city. Despite the fact that Turkey has been hosting a large number of immigrants since 2011 and is making intense efforts to integrate them into society.

In TİHEK’s decision, it was stated that “the expressions used constitute hate speech. Also, setting high fees by the municipality is considered an abuse of power.“

Earlier, the mayor of Bolu, Tango Ozkan, announced that he would raise the marriage fees for foreign refugees residing in the Turkish city of Bolu. He also announced that Turkish citizens living in Bolu will be charged 2.5 Turkish liras per cubic meter of water, and 2.5 dollars from foreigners. Özcan said, “Did our foreign refugee brothers feel uncomfortable with this? If they do, water is cheaper in Damascus. Let’s go. Wedding fees are cheap in Damascus too.