ANKARA
Turkish police have detained 25 people in connection with alleged fraud in a 2010 nationwide civil-service recruitment exam.
Tuesday morning's detentions form part of an investigation which has seen 44 suspects sought across Turkey.
The suspects, including teachers and school administrators, were detained in a simultaneous operation conducted in 19 provinces, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara, upon the order of Ankara prosecutor Yucel Erkman, police said.
The exam at the heart of the case was the Public Personnel Selection Examination, known by the initials KPSS, held in 2010.
Some suspects were employed by the government, police added.
Suspects arrested in Ankara were taken to police headquarters following a medical examination, while those held in other provinces will be sent to Ankara as soon as the relevant procedures are completed.
On April 20, a court in Ankara ordered the arrest of 17 out of 44 suspects, who were already in custody for alleged fraud in the 2010 exam.
The court also ordered the release of two female suspects, while the 25 remaining suspects were released under judicial control.
The suspects were charged with "being a member of an organization formed to commit crimes," "fraud at the expense of public institutions and establishments," and "forgery".
The public prosecutor’s office in Ankara had ordered the detention of 78 suspects as part of a second operation into fraud allegations connected with the KPSS.
The first wave of arrests came in late March across 14 provinces, including in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, which resulted in the detention of 62 suspects; 30 of whom were later released.
Police allegedly found the involvement of so-called ‘parallel state’ members in the fraud.
The suspects of the first operation also faced charges of being members of a criminal organization, forgery, illegal and harmful activity in public institutions, destroying criminal evidence and abuse of power.
The ‘parallel state’ is a purported group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and the police, which allegedly want to undermine the current Turkish government.
Turkey’s government alleges that the clandestine network is run by the U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and that his so-called Gulen movement is responsible for masterminding a plot to overthrow the elected authorities.
