A 24-year-old teacher in eastern Turkey who repeatedly alleged that education authorities failed to act on her complaints of physical abuse, workplace harassment and violence against students was found dead at her home on Sunday, prompting investigations into both her death and the handling of her allegations.
Police on Wednesday detained school principal Melahat İleri, who was the subject of complaints filed by Irmak Ayşe Koparan, a contract teacher working in the eastern province of Ağrı, as prosecutors continue investigating the case. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the grounds for the detention.
The Ağrı Governor’s Office said judicial and administrative investigations had been launched, while the provincial education directorate assigned inspectors to examine the allegations she raised before her death.
According to complaint petitions published by Turkish media outlets, Koparan alleged that İleri had insulted her, slapped her and subjected her to workplace harassment. She also accused the principal of using violence against students.
According to documents cited by Turkish media, Koparan alleged that during an April dispute the principal called her derogatory names, including “gypsy,” “idiot” and “slum dweller,” before slapping her twice. She said other teachers intervened and that she later filed a criminal complaint over the incident.
Koparan also alleged that she faced retaliation after reporting concerns about the treatment of students and conditions at the school. In petitions submitted to education authorities, she reportedly complained about unsanitary conditions at the school, pressure on teachers and other administrative practices she considered improper.
Turkish media reported that Koparan was later reassigned to a remote village school following the disputes with the principal. According to the reports the reassignment required lengthy daily travel and was approved by district education authorities.
Audio recordings attributed to Koparan and published after her death appear to show her describing repeated attempts to seek help from education authorities.
“I reported the physical violence and pressure through petitions many times,” she said in one recording. “I found witnesses and sought help, but they did not want to hear my voice.”
Kadem Özbay, president of Eğitim-İş, a Turkish education workers’ union, said Koparan had been “isolated” and that her attempts to seek help were ignored. The Ağrı branch of the Eğitim Gücü Sen labor union called for the judicial and administrative investigations to be carried out “transparently and fairly.”
Opposition lawmakers Sevda Erdan Kılıç of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Özgül Saki of the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy (DEM Party) submitted parliamentary questions asking whether authorities had investigated allegations of mobbing, violence and administrative pressure before Koparan’s death.
Education Minister Yusuf Tekin said ministry inspectors had been assigned to review the allegations, while the Ağrı Governor’s Office said the judicial and administrative investigations remain ongoing.
