High-ranking police officials convened on Monday to discuss the retirement status of 3,500 officers who are suspected of being affiliated with the Gülen Movement, as part of efforts to weed out infiltrators in the force. In attendance at the meeting was the head of the National Police Department, Celalettin Lekesiz, along with the deputy managers of the department, the head of the Inspection Council, the chief of the Police Academy and other senior officials.

During the meeting, which extended into Tuesday, the files of 3,500 officers were discussed and officials are expected to reach a decision on whether or not the officers in question will be removed from their posts. Those who have the necessary preconditions to retire will be referred for retirement upon the approval of the Interior Ministry.

Those who are suspected of having links with the Gülen Movement in intelligence service reports will be primarily referred for retirement. The High Council of Evaluation, which annually convenes in May, was moved to an earlier date upon approval by the Interior Minister Sebahattin Öztürk.

The Gülen Movement, led by the retired U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gülen who lives in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania, is accused of wiretapping thousands of people including government officials and encrypted phones, with the help of members in law enforcement, public prosecutors and judges. Gülen's followers are alleged to have orchestrated a corruption probe against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when he was prime minister together with his inner circle, which emerged last December, presumably to overthrow the government. That was when the group's alleged infiltration of key government institutions became public. Since then, the government has launched a war against what it calls the "parallel state" to eliminate the threat of further offenses by the movement. Thousands of police officers have been removed from duty for having links with the movement. There have also been scores of lawsuits against them for their alleged illegal wiretapping and spying activities.