Ankara court remands 82 suspects for alleged exam fraud

ANKARA

An Ankara court on Tuesday remanded into custody 82 out of 88 suspects detained over an alleged cheating scandal in the 2010 civil service recruitment exam known as KPSS.

The suspects were first detained in a nationwide operation on Friday after a two-year probe by the Ankara Prosecutor's Office.

Yucel Erkman, a prosecutor in charge of crimes against the constitutional order, requested their continued custody on charges of "fraud to the detriment of public institutions and agencies, organized forgery, and being members of a terrorist organization".

Ankara 5th Peace Court Judge Yunus Suer decided to remand into custody 82 suspects and release six others under judicial supervision.

The prosecutor had initially issued warrants for 100 suspects in 35 provinces across the country. Police detained 92, while eight others were at large. Four women were released due to being pregnant.

In March 2015 police launched their first operation into the case in 19 provinces, including the capital Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Eskisehir, Sakarya, Isparta, Sivas, Samsun and Bursa, and hundreds of suspects were detained.

The prosecutor's office said a total of 616 suspects allegedly involved in the fraud case were all current civil servants on active duty.

The officers were alleged to be 'parallel state' members, which the Turkish government accuses of penetrating key positions of responsibility across the country in order to undermine it.

The 'parallel state' is designated by the government as a group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and the police, who allegedly seek to undermine the Turkish government.