Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesperson Bülent Tezcan was mocked on social media after his allegations regarding an illegal intelligence service within the police department were rejected by police.
Delivering a speech in Parliament on Wednesday, Tezcan showed an official document prepared by the police department after chief public prosecutors requested information from certain governmental institutions regarding the activities of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
"We see that judicial bodies obtained information from other bodies while conducting an investigation. One of the sources used for this investigation is ‘The Presidency of National Security.' The government does not have such an organization," Tezcan said. He called on the president, prime minister, interior minister and justice minister to give explanations regarding the issue.
Shortly after Tezcan's allegations, the police department issued a written statement. Brushing off the establishment of an illegal intelligence service within the department, the statement said the Presidency of National Security is an abbreviation for a unit established within the Department of Anti-smuggling and Organized Crime (KOM) in 2016 following a Cabinet decision and approval by the Interior Ministry.
The statement also stressed that an information repository formed within the structure of the KOM in the framework of the fight against FETÖ has been open to departmental investigations.
Tezcan went on to make claims about the alleged illegal police unit. "A private intelligence service has been founded. What is this organization? Who collects information and blacklists people?" the CHP spokesperson asked.
"The necessary information regarding the issue could have been provided to the deputy if he asked in order to avoid misinforming the public," the statement added.
After the police department denied the allegations, Tezcan was criticized on social media for misleading the public and for sloppiness. "They have no idea about state institutions, yet they are saying that they want to run the state," a Twitter user said.