ANKARA
A court in Ankara ordered the arrest of 17 out of 44 suspects early Friday, who were already in detention for alleged fraud in a 2010 nationwide civil service recruitment 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 Monday as part of a second operation into fraud allegations connected with the Public Personnel Selection Examination, known by the initials KPSS, held in 2010.
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 "parallel state" members in the fraud.
The suspects of the first operation too 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 an alleged 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.
The government alleges that the clandestine network is run by the U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen and that his so-called Gulen movement is responsible for masterminding a plot to overthrow the elected Turkish government.
