Turkish police detained 34 suspects yesterday in operations concerning allegations of mass fraud in a nationwide exam blamed on Gülenists.
The chief prosecutor's office in Ankara, which is conducting an investigation into a 2010 civil servant exam tainted by cheating allegations, ordered police squads in 24 cities to storm homes and offices on Wednesday. Media outlets reported prosecutors issued detention warrants for 51 people, and several suspects were at large as this paper went to print. The majority of suspects were teachers or academics, and it is unclear whether they are accused of cheating in the exam or of simply feeding questions and answers to participants in the exam. The state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported that a number of suspects had taken a day off, one day before the police raids, possibly aware of the threat of detention. AA reported the suspects included an inspector in the Ministry of Finance and an employee of Turkey's public broadcaster, TRT. The news agency also reported discrepancies between scores that suspects achieved in the 2010 exam and the subsequent exam held to replace the annulled 2010 exam. The suspects are accused of "membership in a terrorist organization, forging official documents, fraud and abuse of duty." "Membership in a terrorist organization" refers to the designation of the Gülen Movement as a terrorist entity.
Gülenists are accused of helping loyalists of the Gülen Movement to cheat in the Public Personnel Selection Exam (KPSS), an important test for those seeking assignment to civil servant posts.
A total of 230 suspects are already on trial for cheating in the KPSS, while several suspects, including the head of a nongovernmental organization linked to Gülenists who is accused of providing exam question and answers that were distributed to Gülenists.
Prosecutors believe the KPSS was used as a springboard for Gülenists to infiltrate state institutions and climb the ranks of the bureaucracy. Prosecutors say in the indictment that FETÖ attempts to install its members in public agencies posed a serious threat to the state and also damaged the public's confidence in equality and qualification for public jobs.