Detention warrants issued for 46 over alleged Gülen links in exam fraud case

ANKARA

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on March 30 issued detention warrants for 46 people across Turkey over fraud in the Police Academy Entrance Exam in 2012, accusing them of links with what the authorities call the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

The suspects procured leaked test papers before the exam and were thus able to secure top marks and take jobs in the Turkish police force, said a statement from the prosecutor’s office in Ankara.

The suspects are accused of “fraud” and “membership of an armed terror organization.”

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office has also issued warrants for 35 suspects over fraud in another exam taken by prospective deputy inspectors at the Ministry of Family and Social Policies in 2011. Thirteen suspects have been detained so far.

The movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen was once a close ally of the government but Ankara now accuses it of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of state institutions, particularly the military, the police and the judiciary.