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5 Of 12 Detained Officers Referred To Ankara Courthouse Amid Reactions

23.10.2014 09:51

Five of 12 detained police chiefs and officers were referred to the Ankara Courthouse on Wednesday, each making a statement before turning himself in to the Ankara Police Department following a court's detention order amid reactions saying that the government has targeted officers with baseless accusations in order to replace them.Uğur Eski, Serkan Şahan, Engin Eraslan, Serahsi Şen and Mustafa Şahin were referred to the Ankara Courthouse following a health screening.Twelve of 18 senior police chiefs whose addresses were searched on Tuesday turned themselves into the Ankara Police Department on Wednesday before five of them were referred to the Ankara Courthouse, explaining that they were being detained on charges of illegal surveillance, illegal intelligence gathering and forgery of documents.During Tuesday's operations, which targeted police officers from the intelligence unit of the National Police Department, including Ömer Altıparmak and Lokman Kırcılı, former deputy police chief o

Five of 12 detained police chiefs and officers were referred to the Ankara Courthouse on Wednesday, each making a statement before turning himself in to the Ankara Police Department following a court's detention order amid reactions saying that the government has targeted officers with baseless accusations in order to replace them.
Uğur Eski, Serkan Şahan, Engin Eraslan, Serahsi Şen and Mustafa Şahin were referred to the Ankara Courthouse following a health screening.
Twelve of 18 senior police chiefs whose addresses were searched on Tuesday turned themselves into the Ankara Police Department on Wednesday before five of them were referred to the Ankara Courthouse, explaining that they were being detained on charges of illegal surveillance, illegal intelligence gathering and forgery of documents.
During Tuesday's operations, which targeted police officers from the intelligence unit of the National Police Department, including Ömer Altıparmak and Lokman Kırcılı, former deputy police chief of the Ankara Police Department, the 18 senior police officers' addresses were searched.
Kırcılı, before he turned himself in to the Ankara Police Department, made a statement expressing that he and his team had conducted an operation into the outlawed Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) at the behest of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and that they have now been turned into a target by the same decision-making mechanism.
Altıparmak, who was targeted as part of a new wave of government-backed intimidation campaign against the police force on Tuesday, said all of his work was in accordance with the law and instructions of state officials.
Bitlis Police Chief Sadettin Akgüç, whose name is also on the list of those in detention, made a statement to the press before he turned himself in to the Ankara Police Department, stressing that all detained police officers represent the law, justice and freedom, saying, "The point at which we stand did not change at all -- not yesterday and not today."
Mehmet Erdil, one of the police officers who came to the police department to turn himself in on Wednesday, stressed that he and the other detained members of the police force are accused of involvement in illegal wiretapping and intelligence activities. “All wiretaps that we conducted in the past were carried out in accordance with court orders. Also, we learned that the investigation file concerning us was first taken from the prosecutor who was conducting the investigation and handed over to another prosecutor. During this transfer, extra accusations were added to the dossier that have nothing to do with the truth, like the forgery of documents,” he said.
Another police chief, Hasan Ali Okan, also came to the police department to turn himself in and made a statement, saying: "The police force belongs to the state, not the government. The government facilitates the proper functioning of the state mechanism for a defined period. But it cannot be replaced by that state. We all trust in the state."

New politically motivated operation into police under way in Kayseri

A Twitter user using the pseudonym “Fuat Avni” announced on Wednesday that after the operation targeting the former intelligence chiefs and police officers in Ankara on Tuesday a new wave will take place in Kayseri.
Fuat Avni is believed to be a senior Turkish official. He has been secretly reporting from within the government since earlier this year, predicting many operations into police officers in the national police unit.
Access to the user Fuat Avni, who shared some details about critical moves by the government, was blocked in June; however, he went on to leak information about the AK Party's ill-intentioned political actions against the police force, businesspeople and independent firms.
Despite the reasons behind the decision for the detentions not being made clear to the public, these operations into the police force are considered part of an attempt by the government to cover up a corruption scandal that erupted on Dec. 17, implicating the then-prime minister's family along with several now ex-ministers and businesspeople.
Media reports claimed that the detained police officers are accused of illegal wiretapping into state officials.
Since the scandal erupted, the government has ordered a series of operations targeting the police force, accusing high-ranking police chiefs and officers of being involved in a coup attempt as well as purging thousands of police officers and members of the judiciary to evade the graft claims.
Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Mustafa Destici questioned the motives behind the operations, asking: "Is [outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah] Öcalan giving instructions for the removal and detention of the police officers? The public opinion needs a clear answer whether the operations are part of a bargain between the government and Öcalan."

AK Party seeks to create own police force

Former Bingöl Police Chief Ercan Taştekin criticized the government-led systematic intimidation campaign against some police officers, saying that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is trying to eliminate those who do not share its stance. “It is trying to create a police department which is composed of police officers who are in line with itself by weakening the current police force,” he said.
Speaking with Today's Zaman about a government witch hunt initiated by Erdoğan after the graft scandal became public on Dec. 17, Taştekin said if a government is in the process of transforming into a dictatorship, then serious purges within the police force are common.
When asked whether the purge of police officers would still have happened if the corruption investigations were not launched, Taştekin said, "Even if the graft scandal had not erupted, there were already plans for the police force to be transformed into a political party."
Taştekin also shared messages on his Twitter feed about the previous operations into the police in July and August. He wrote that the operation was old-fashioned and resembled practices of 15 years ago, a time when large segments of society felt as if they were treated like potential suspects. In his tweets, Taştekin stated that fighting crime and criminals has to be undertaken very carefully; it should not disturb people who are not involved in crime. The former police chief also stated that this kind of operation has to be precise and organized with sufficient preparation.
Rabia Dinçer, the daughter of another detained police chief, Selahattin Dinçer, made a statement in front of the Ankara Police Department and said that her father had served the state, not institutions or individuals.
“Everything is apparent. There is not much to say in an atmosphere where right and wrong and the criminals and the innocent are known well. My father and the other police chiefs have a clear conscience about what they did during their time in office. I am sure justice will be done,” she said.
Lawyers for the police chiefs also made a statement saying that all wiretaps were conducted upon instructions from Erdoğan.
The lawyers emphasized in a joint statement that their defendants did not commit the crime of illegal wiretapping that they were charged with, and that they have faith in their work and themselves despite the accusations of illegal surveillance, adding, “Our defendants consider the investigation into them for carrying out their duties a chance to express the truth.”
“Our defendants Ömer Altıparmak and his team provided reliable intelligence to the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] in an atmosphere when a fight was being conducted against the PKK and the KCK. So, while Altıparmak and his team have been detained, the leaders of the terrorist groups are introduced as messengers of peace,” the statement said.
More than 100 members of the police force were detained in a large-scale operation that began in the early hours of July 22 in over 20 provinces as part of the government's war on the faith-based Hizmet movement, which the government accuses of being behind the corruption investigations targeting the government.
Meanwhile former İstanbul Financial Crimes Unit Deputy Chief Yasin Topçu, who was also among the police officers detained in July, was barred from the profession. Topçu was on duty when prosecutors ordered the second wave of the corruption operations against nearly 50 suspects, including Bilal Erdoğan, the son of then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, on Dec. 25.

Şükür accuses gov't of ordering operation to cover up Kobani failure

Former AK Party deputy Hakan Şükür accused the government of carrying out an operation targeting the police force in an attempt to divert attention from its failure concerning Kobani, a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria close to the country's border with Turkey. The US recently dropped weapons and US President Barack Obama called on Erdoğan to allow Kurdish peshmerga forces to cross into Kobani via Turkey to fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is besieging Kobani, despite the government's previous opposition to the idea.
The Turkish government and Erdoğan had continually expressed that weapons assistance to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is fighting ISIL, is not the right step. Despite considering the PYD a terrorist element, Turkey allowed PYD fighters to cross into Syria from its territory.
Posting tweets on the issue, Şükür wrote: “The government burying its head in the sand will not work. Whatever dirty operation you conduct, evil is like a boomerang that will eventually hit the owner." (Cihan/Today’s Zaman)



 
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