ISTANBUL
The police officers detained include Istanbul Police Department’s former anti-terror unit chief Yurt Atayün. AA Photo
Dozens of high-ranking police officials were detained in simultaneous operations conducted in 22 provinces of Turkey early July 22 as part of an investigation into accusations against the “parallel state.”
At least 40 people were detained in Istanbul on accusations of spying, illegal wiretapping and fraud in official documents. At least 12 people were detained in a separate operation targeting former intelligence department officials, for allegedly conducting illegal surveillance.
There are detention orders for a total of 134 suspects, CNNTürk reported.
Most of the detained suspects were in key positions during the Dec. 17, 2013, probe into allegations of graft and corruption, which targeted prominent businessmen, civil servants and four ex-ministers.
Among the suspects detained are Yurt Atayün, former head of the Istanbul police’s anti-terror department, Ömer Köse, head of the anti-terror department at the time of the Dec. 17, 2013 operation, as well as former deputy police chiefs Kazım Aksoy, Ramazan Candan and Gafur Ataç. Aksoy was expelled from the police force following the Dec. 17 operation during which he was a part of the financial crimes department, while Köse was suspended after the same incident.
The operation is considered as part of the government’s fight against the Fethullah Gülen movement, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accuses of creating a “parallel state within the state.”
Speaking in a televised interview July 21, Erdoğan said he would not back down from his bid to “clean up the state.”
Erdoğan also said he expected the United States “to have a stance” on Gülen, who resides in Pennsylvania.
“I told [U.S. President Barack] Obama and he said he understood,” the prime minister said. “Of course, the judicial rulings are important. When we have a Red Notice, he will not be able to stay where he is.”
July/22/2014