The parallel state designates a clandestine group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials, allegedly embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police.
In the framework of the investigation into allegations of “parallel state”, which began on July 22, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecution Office had ordered the detention of 27 police officers.
Teams from Istanbul’s Organized Crime and Financial Crime Branch staged the operation in 13 provinces detaining 18 police officers.
These include: former head of branch of the General Security Directorate’s Smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM) Mehmet Yesilkaya; his deputy, Osman Balci; former branch director Alparslan Caliskan; former Istanbul deputy Branch Director for Combating Financial Crime Yasin Topcu; and police superintendent Mehmet Akif Uner.
The detainees are all alleged to be part of the “parallel state” conspiracy headed by Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.–based Islamic preacher who runs a network of schools and commercial enterprises in Turkey and around the world
Investigations into the parallel state since early 2014 have seen hundreds of civil servants, including police and public prosecutors, arrested or reassigned.
Former Istanbul Deputy Police Chief Hamza Tosun was not found at his address. The operation continues.
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