A teacher in Van has been punished and transferred to another city for speaking Kurdish.

HDP deputy Muazzez Orhan, who criticized the transfer of teacher Medeni Oruç for speaking Kurdish, said: "Binali Yildirim greeted the people of Diyarbakir in Kurdish and used the word Kurds and Kurdistan, yet our teachers are punished for speaking in Kurdish."

Medeni Oruç, who worked as a class teacher at Ferit Melen Primary School in Edremit district of Van, was transferred as a result of an investigation started on the grounds that he spoke Kurdish in the school.

The Ministry of National Education (MONE) introduced Kurdish elective courses in schools, but as the trade union of which Oruç is member, the Education and Science Laborers Union (Eğitim Sen), pointed out, a teacher speaking Kurdish is actually punished.

Likewise HDP Van MP Muazzez Orhan said the decision to punish the teacher was unacceptable and called on the Ministry of National Education to stop the transfer decision.