Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 9 2014
Interior Ministry profiled police officer candidates, their families
November 09, 2014, Sunday/ 18:40:08/ SELMA TATLI/ BAYRAM KAYA/ / ISTANBUL
Turkey’s Interior Ministry profiled not just police officer
candidates, but also their family members, according to their
ideological, social and religious affiliations, according to documents
obtained by Today’s Zaman.
The Security General Directorate’s (EGM) intelligence department
apparently profiled thousands of university graduates who aspired to
become police officers, leading to the unjust elimination of some of
the candidates.
The documents also show that most of the newly-recruited police
officers were employed thanks to references from Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) deputies or bureaucrats at the Interior
Ministry.
The documents show that the profiling conducted by the ministry
extended beyond police officer candidates to members of their
families, in a move that clearly violates their right to privacy.
For instance, about police officer candidate S.Y., it is said in the
document: `[His/her] grandfather faced legal action for aiding and
abetting the PKK [the Kurdistan Workers’ Party] in 1998. [His/her]
aunt’s husband also faced legal action over charges of involvement in
PKK activities. [His/her] aunt joined the celebrations marking the
birthday of the PKK leader in 2011.’
For candidate F.O., the document says: `There is information that
[his/her] uncle was an executive board member of the Battalgazi
Education and Culture Foundation in 1999, affiliated with [Islamic
scholar] Fethullah Gülen.’
About police officer candidate D.D., the document says that there are
four hotel registrations showing that she stayed with two different
men between the years of 2013 and 2014, adding that both D.D. and the
men she stayed with were unmarried. It also says in the document that
D.D.’s uncles have connections to the Nur religious community and the
Med-Zehra religious community.
Regarding candidate Y.Y., the document says that he is affiliated with
the Ã`lkücü (Idealist) group and that there are hotel registrations
showing that he stayed with a woman two times at a hotel in 2014 and
that both of them are single.
For another candidate, M.M, it notes that his/her brother went to the
private Rahime Batu High School and for Ä°.H., it says that his/her
uncle faced legal action in 2000 over charges of being a member of a
terrorist organization.
Profiling became a constitutional crime with the Sept. 12, 2010
referendum and the documents indicate that the Interior Ministry
violated the Constitution with these illegal practices.
In September it was also revealed in documents acquired by Today’s
Zaman that the Ministry of Family and Social Policy also apparently
added another level to the illegal profiling practices of the Turkish
state by giving people within the ministry a special code designation
in their records if they were thought to be affiliated with the
faith-based Hizmet movement.
Reminiscent of the single-party era, when non-Muslim citizens of
Turkey were classified with the codes 1, 2 and 3 for being Greek,
Armenian or Jewish, respectively, the AK Party designated the use of
“111” to classify people who are allegedly close to the Hizmet
movement, which is inspired by the teachings of the Islamic scholar
Gülen.
A team within the Ministry of Family and Social Policy led by the
undersecretary has reportedly profiled all personnel within the
ministry and created documents detailing their political, social and
religious affiliations.
During the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, a body established by the
military, the West Study Group (BÇG) also carried out illegal
activities that included profiling.