5 February 2014 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
Following a massive purge at police departments in Diyarbakır, Eskişehir and Bolu on Tuesday, four high-ranking police officials — including a deputy chief of the anti-smuggling and organized crime unit — and 48 more officials at the Konya Police Department were removed from their posts on Wednesday, almost two months after a corruption scandal involving former ministers and some of their sons broke out on Dec. 17.
Before the latest round of dismissals, the police chief at Konya’s anti-smuggling and organized crime unit, Hasan Yavuz, had been replaced by the public relations branch chief, Ali Loğoğlu. Yavuz was appointed to the crime scene inspection unit.
The officials who were removed from their posts have been replaced by a commissioner and two deputy commissioners.
Some officials reportedly filed complaints against their reassignments. The reassignment of the Beyoğlu district police chief was halted by a court decision, and 14 other police officials who filed complaints have also been moved back to their previous posts.
At least 161 police officers were removed from their posts in Diyarbakır, Bolu and Eskişehir on Tuesday, raising the number of police officers who have been reassigned following the major corruption investigation to roughly 6,000.