About 80% of files delivered to the Inquiry Commission on the State of Emergency have been decided upon, the head of the commission Salih Tanrıkulu said Thursday, adding that it was discovered that more than TL 2 billion was deposited to Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ)-affiliated Bank Asya in support of the terrorists.

The commission – which consists of 250 personnel, 80 of whom are rapporteurs such as judges, experts and inspectors – reviewed and concluded the applications concerning the measures adopted under the state of emergency decree laws, such as the dismissal of public officials, cancellation of scholarships, annulment of the ranks of retired personnel and the closure of some institutions.

So far, 126,300 applications were submitted to the Commission, of which 98,300 were decided upon while the other 28,000 applications are pending, Tanrıkulu said. Out of 98,300 decisions, 9,600 were accepted and 88,700 were rejected. Fifty of those decisions are related to the re-opening of organizations that were shut down, including associations, foundations and TV channels. Accordingly, 78% of the applications have been decided upon within a period of 24 months.

The emergency commission began functioning on Dec. 22, 2017. Under the decree laws issued within the scope of the state of emergency, a total of 131,922 measures were taken, 125,678 of which were dismissals from public service. The Inquiry Commission set up data processing infrastructure in order to receive, archive and examine applications electronically, and the information on the applications acquired from more than 20 institutions and organizations has been recorded in this system. Classification, registration and archiving of 490,000 files – including personnel files transferred from their institutions, court files and former applications – have been completed.

Tanrıkulu added that about TL 2.37 billion was deposited by FETÖ members to support Bank Asya, upon the calls of prominent figures of terrorist group at the time the bank was struggling financially.

Bank Asya was a major lender associated with the group before it was handed over to a state-run fund managing assets seized from criminals in 2015. It has long been at the center of accusations that it was used by FETÖ members for money laundering. A large number of suspects in FETÖ investigations have accounts in the bank and several acknowledged that they deposited money in the bank to support the terrorist group.

Applicants and their former workplaces are informed of the commission's decisions by notices circulated to the institutions where they last held office. The procedure of appointment of those whose applications were accepted is carried out by the institution where they last held office and the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), when relevant. An annulment action may be brought before the Ankara Administrative Courts determined by the Council of Judges and Prosecutors against the decisions of the commission and the institution or organization where the relevant person last held office, within a period of 60 days from the date of notification of the decision.

Turkey announced a state of emergency following an attempt to seize power by FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen on July 15, 2016, when the state moved to start a purge of suspected Gülenists from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). After the coup attempt was thwarted, hundreds of lawsuits were filed against the putschists. The coup attempt killed 251 people and left nearly 2,200 injured.