Turkey Red Crescent leader steps down amid tent controversy

The Turkish Red Crescent’s head resigned on Friday after controversy arose over the selling of earthquake tents to a charity in the days following the devastating earthquakes that struck southern Turkey in February, causing over 54,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria.

There were complaints about the slow response of authorities in the first days following the disaster, leading to criticism of the government.

President Tayyip Erdogan expressed his disappointment about the sale of tents and stated that the Red Crescent should correct the mistake immediately.

Kerem Kinik, the resigning chairman, initially claimed to be aware of the sale and deemed it legal, but later denied being aware of the sale and would have prevented it if he knew beforehand.

The relief association stated that an extraordinary convention would be held following the resignation.

Another public debate arose after it was revealed that the Red Crescent sold tents to another charity instead of directly sending them to the disaster zone.