15 hunger-striking miners hospitalized in Turkey’s north

ZONGULDAK

Some 15 miners staging a hunger strike in a trustee-appointed mine have been hospitalized in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak, as the strike entered its fifth day. 

Some 245 miners at the facility have not been paid for nearly four months and 85 have opted to strike by refusing to leave the mine, to which a trustee was appointed for alleged links to the so-called “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ),” which refers to the followers of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar based in the United States who is accused of plotting a coup against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Seven miners fell ill on the second day of the strike, three fell ill on the third day and five miners were taken out of the mine due to their worsening condition on May 22.

The health conditions of the miners are improving and 70 miners are continuing their strikes, reported Doğan News Agency.

Trustees were on April 13 appointed to the Deka and Balçın mines, which employ 130 and 115 miners, respectively.

Meanwhile, the trustee panel told journalists early on May 23 that they were planning to pay the salaries of the miners by selling 5,000 tons of coal ready for sale at another trustee-appointed mine company.