Six heads of organized crime unit dismissed as hundreds relocated in new police purges [just after an operation against al-Qaeda]


Date posted: January 15, 2014

ANKARA

The Turkish government’s massive purges at the Police Department following a damaging graft probe continued with a fresh wave of relocations on Jan. 15.

Six heads at the smuggling and organized crime unit (KOM) of the Police Department were dismissed overnight as 500 officers have been relocated to new assignments. The head of the unit that played key roles in conducting wide-scale investigations had already been relocated in a previous wave of the purge. The institution’s website has reportedly crashed due to overload as the members of the police who have been relocated rushed to computers to learn their new assignments.

The Ankara Police Department was again the target of the purge as six deputy police chiefs were also dismissed Jan. 15, three of whom were only recently appointed following the graft probe.

The new relocations come as two heads of anti-terror units who conducted an operation against al-Qaeda and raids against a local branch of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH) charity were dismissed on Jan. 14.

The purges have been interpreted as a tit-for-that response from the government for the graft investigations that implicated four ex-ministers and have affected almost all echelons of the Police Department.

Many have suggested the movement of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is the target of the purges. His Hizmet (Service) movement has been repeatedly accused by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of orchestrating the graft probes through its members who are known to hold key position in the police and judiciary.

The heads of the departments of the three big cities – Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir – were all dismissed following the graft scandal.

In a second wave of the purge on Jan. 8, almost 350 officers working in key operational units at the Ankara police were dismissed in one sweep.

Relocations have also hit the bureaucracy, as top officials at the finance and education ministries have been replaced.

Source: Hurriyet Daily , January 15, 2014

Tags: | | | |


Related News

German view of Hizmet Movement (1)

I remember the late, right-minded orientalist Annemarie Schimmel’s words saying, “The most attacked and least understood religion in the West is Islam.” Today, we come across a similar statement in a recently published scholarly report too. I’m referring to the report titled, “Überdehnt sich die Bewegung von Fethullah Gülen?” by Stiftung für Wissenschaftund Politik (SWP), which put the Hizmet Movement under a scholarly microscope.

EP condemns media crackdown in name of rule of law, press freedom

The European Parliament on Thursday condemned the Turkish government’s attempt to silence critical media by launching raids on media institutions and detaining journalists on Dec.14, saying the steps taken by the Turkish government against the media raises questions about the rule of law and freedom of the media in the country.

Cleric’s Lawyers Want US Suit Backed by Turkey Tossed

Attorneys for a reclusive Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania asked a federal judge late Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims he orchestrated human rights abuses in his native Turkey, denouncing it as “pure political theater” by the Turkish government.

In Greece, Turks tell of lives full of fear in Recep Erdogan’s Turkey

Dominika Spyratou of the Greek NGO SolidarityNow, which provides assistance to refugees, says that more than 1,000 Turkish citizens came to Greece seeking asylum after the July 2016 failed coup, while almost 300 Turkish families are now in Thessaloniki.

8.5-month pregnant woman under arrest though baby faces heart, kidney problems

With only days to go before the delivery, a Kayseri woman is still held under arrest even though her baby has heart and kidney problems. If she was not under arrest, the baby would have been treated before it was born.

National Development Requires Peaceful Co-existence

Organized by the Ghana-Turkey Co-operation and Development Association (TUDEC), the Great Volta Foundation Dialogue Centre and the Fountain Magazine, in collaboration with the National Peace Council. The conference stressed that peaceful co-existence is possible only when people learn to accept, embrace and respect one another in spite of their religious and racial differences.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Gülen Movement’s role on London conference agenda

Yet another woman faces detention at hospital immediately after giving birth

Turkish schools in Thailand celebrate 17th commencement

Catholic University of Leuven establishes Fethullah Gülen Chair

Syracuse Turkish community celebrates their heritage with a Children’s Festival

Religion and war culture discussed in Vienna

Haylamaz: Real Islam should be sought by looking at the Prophet Muhammad’s life

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News