31.01.2025 21:40
In operations conducted in 25 provinces, 50 out of 68 suspects who were detained on the grounds that they sold personal data obtained through illegal interrogation systems known as "panels" or used it for threats and blackmail were referred to the court with a request for their arrest. The prosecutor's letter included findings that the MERNIS database and other integrated information systems had been breached.
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Teams from the Cyber Crime Department of the Istanbul Police Department conducted an operation based on findings that information threatening state security was shared on social media accounts, resulting in the detention of 68 suspects, 35 of whom are children, who were taken to the Anadolu Courthouse after their procedures at the police station.
REQUEST FOR ARREST OF 50 SUSPECTS Four prosecutors were assigned by the Child Offenders Investigation Bureau to take statements from the 35 Child Offenders (SSÇ). The statements of the other suspects were taken by the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Bureau of Forgery, Fraud, and Cyber Crimes, which is conducting the investigation. The prosecutor's office requested the arrest of 50 of the 68 suspects whose statements were completed, while 18 were referred to the duty magistrate court with a request for judicial control.
"POPULATION REGISTRIES ARE THE MOST BASIC ELEMENT OF STATE SECURITY" In the referral letter written by the prosecutor to the court, it was stated that one of the most important public activities of the state is population registries, and the following statements were included: "To give a current example, when America invaded Iraq in 2003, one of the first actions taken was to intervene in population and property records. In times when population records were not kept in writing, even gravestones constituted significant evidence of a state's existence or entitlement. Therefore, it is an undeniable fact that population registries are one of the fundamental elements of a state's security. It is evident that the MERNIS system, which is queried with a citizenship number, is an integral part of national security. In our assessment regarding the method of obtaining the confidential information, we believe that if the perpetrator or perpetrators are not only the panel system implementers but also those who established the system and continuously update the data, the act should also be evaluated under Articles 244/2 and 244/3 of the Turkish Penal Code."
THEY HACKED INTO MERNIS AND SOLD THE INFORMATION It was stated in the document that the suspects obtained the passwords of authorized users of the MERNIS database, which should remain confidential for state security, and other integrated information systems through various means, and after infiltrating or obtaining the data from individuals who provided it through leaks, they transferred this data to a query screen called "panel." The suspects were recorded as having created an illegal query screen to upload data in order to gain money and reputation in the virtual world.
"IF THEY ARE NOT ARRESTED, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF PRESSURING WITNESSES" The document indicated that there are strong indications of the suspects committing the crime they are accused of, and if they are released, there is a possibility of pressuring witnesses whose names are mentioned in the Forensic Informatics Report but have not been processed, and thus the arrest of the 50 suspects was requested.
WHAT HAPPENED? In the operations initiated by the Cyber Crime Department of the Istanbul Police Department based on tips, findings were obtained that information threatening state security was shared on social media accounts. As a result of the teams' work, it was determined that a group had stolen a large number of personal data and information belonging to institutions, such as names, surnames, Turkish ID numbers, property records, and health information, through illegal query systems called "panel," and that this data was sold for money or used for threats and blackmail. It was understood that many children were victimized as a result of the blackmail, and some children were driven to suicide.
With the investigation permission of the Anadolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, teams from the Istanbul Cyber Crime Department, coordinated by the Cyber Crime Department, detained 68 suspects, 35 of whom are children, in a simultaneous operation conducted in 25 provinces. During the searches at the suspects' addresses, a large number of digital materials were seized, and unlicensed firearms and automatic rifles were confiscated. Legal action was initiated against the suspects for "obtaining information that must remain confidential for the security of the state or for the internal or external political interests."
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