32 arrested in exam cheating case

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

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A total of 32 suspects have been arrested in the 2010 Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS) cheating case, among 62 suspects who were sent to the vacancy magistracy with arrest warrants.

The suspects are accused of forming an illegal organization, being a member of an illegal organization, forging official documents, removing criminal evidence, and disclosure of prohibited information. The court ruled for the release of 30 arrested suspects under a judicial control decision.

The Ankara Police Department launched simultaneous operations in 19 provinces across the country in order to detain a total of 82 suspects on March 24, ultimately detaining 75 people. Six suspects were released while the other 69 were sent to court, 62 with arrest warrants.

Meanwhile, the controversial U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has recently been cited as a key suspect in the latest investigation into the allegations of exam cheating. Police revealed that those detained were suspected of being involved in a scheme to steal answer keys, in which answers were allegedly leaked to members of the Gülen movement. The questions were allegedly stolen and handed out on the order of Gülen himself, according to the police investigation.

More than 800,000 candidates entered the 2010 KPSS exam hoping to become public servants.

However, cheating suspicions were raised after 350 candidates correctly answered all 120 questions in the education sciences section, which covers teaching candidates.

A probe was conducted into 3,227 candidates who were suspected of having access to the questions before the exam.