Seventeen Officers Arrested, 12 Released In Latest Operation Against Police

Out of the 29 police officers who were detained in an operation in İstanbul, 17 were arrested while 12 officers were released on late Monday after being kept in custody for eight days.

The 29 policemen were kept in custody for eight days although according to Article 19 of the Constitution, the maximum pre-verdict detention period is four days and at the end of that period, no one can be held in custody without an order from a judge.

The İstanbul-based operation launched on April 13 reportedly targeted police officers who worked for the organized crime and intelligence units of the police force. According to media reports, those detained are accused of "espionage, forgery, illegal wiretapping, documenting personal information and attempting to stop the Turkish government from performing its duties."

All of the officers, including Former İstanbul Police Department Organized Crimes Unit head Nazmi Ardıç who last month announced his bid to run for Parliament, were sent to court with arrest warrant. Although, the interrogation of the officers finished at 8 p.m. the court gave its decision at around 11 p.m. on Monday.

Lawyer of one of the police officers Nejdet Solmazgül told Cihan news agency that the court made its decision only after eight days. The ones who violate human rights and justice called seizing robbers as coup and revealing corruption as espionage, added Solmazgül.

As a result of the graft probes, four ex-ministers had to resign, and numerous other people, including senior bureaucrats, the sons of three then-ministers and businessmen with close ties to the government, were briefly detained but ultimately released and the investigations were closed. The operations are also widely seen as targeting alleged supporters of the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement and inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Erdoğan and government officials have described the group as a “parallel structure” within the state.






SHOT LIST
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 SOURCE: CIHAN
Explanation by Solmazgül
Families of officers
Police
Released officers
Duration: 09: 47