Three Gülenist officers arrested over infraction of rules

Three police officers who allegedly have ties to the controversial Gülen Movement have been arrested by Ankara Prosecutor's office following an investigation on illegal endowment of awards and privileges to police officers.

Accused for "unlawful awarding of recognition certificates that affect an officer's promotion status and/or premiums," the three officers were charged for "Fraudulent actions harming the public institutions and establishments and forgery of official documents" due to the discovery of strong evidence pertaining to the commitment of a crime and the potential to destroy or modify evidence.

An arrest warrant was issued for 17 officers earlier this week when 14 suspects were detained while three of them could not be located according to reports. 11 of these officers were transferred to the court on duty with the demand to take them under custody.

The Inspection Committee of Turkish National Police has discovered that 30 Gülenist officers were bestowed double salaries while they were on leave and failed to report that they were on leave on purpose. Last week, the ranks of 470 Gülenist police officers were stripped for stealing the answers of the commissariat exam.

The Gülen Movement is a transnational movement led by the controversial U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gülen who lives in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania is accused of wiretapping thousands of people including Turkish government officials and encrypted phones. It has over 140 private schools throughout the world including the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has been accused of infiltrating into state institutions in Turkey and overthrowing the government.

Turkish government officials have continuously expressed their determination to continue to lawfully fight against the Gülen Movement, whose followers are accused of infiltrating state institutions to gain control of state mechanisms, and illegal wiretapping, forgery of official documents and spying.