Thousands Of Turkish Police Chiefs Retired After Security Bill

- A mass retirement of police chiefs has begun following a controversial domestic security bill signed into a law on April 3, with thousands of police chiefs being retired on April 16.

The Supreme Assessing Authority continued to review the records of first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree police chiefs on the third day of the meetings that started on April 13. A total of 1,150 first-degree police chiefs out of 1,725 have been retired, while the total number of retired constables is expected to exceed 3,500.

The majority of the retired police chiefs are allegedly linked to the “parallel structure,” through which the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has accused sympathizers of the U.S.-based scholar Fethullah Gülen’s of trying to topple the government, police sources say.

The authority is scheduled to review the records of the second-, third- and fourth-degree police chiefs on April 16. Accordingly, about 2,400 police officers with second, third and fourth degrees are expected to be retired in the upcoming days.

In addition, the police chiefs involved in the country’s December 17 and 25, 2013, graft probes have also been retired, including a department head, provincial police chief and deputy chief of police.