Investigation into cheating allegations in Turkey’s judiciary exam by Gülenists
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Feb 18, 2014 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Feb 18, 2014 12:00 am
The Gülen movement, blamed for the Dec. 17 anti-graft probe to discredit the government, is accused of helping its followers to cheat in other exams as well
By Yusuf Ziya Durmuş
The chief public prosecutor's office in Ankara launched an investigation into cheating in an exam for the posts of judge and prosecutors. An opposition lawmaker claimed the questions in the exam were leaked to "a certain group," referring to the Gülen movement.
The exam in question was held on May 6, 2012, and was cancelled by the state authority overseeing the exams following the cheating allegations. Some participants appealed to the court the cancellation. The court annulled the decision to cancel the exam. Following eight months of investigation, the prosecutor's office dismissed the charges, but a new investigation was launched after new allegations and evidence surfaced.
A report prepared by the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), which oversees the exams, was the basis of the new investigation. According to the report, drafted after an analysis of the exam results, some participants answered all questions in the math section of the exam correctly although they did not scrawl calculations necessary to answer the complex questions.
The report also found four married couples who scored very high in the exam answered the same questions correctly and all scored points high and close to each other. The report concluded that a large number of participants were provided with the questions prior to the exam.
The Gülen movement, blamed for the Dec. 17 anti-graft probe to discredit the government, is accused of helping its followers to cheat in other exams as well. In January, it was revealed that policemen associated with the Gülen movement were promoted to higher ranks after being given the answers for promotion exams by Gülen movement followers in the law enforcement.
The movement's followers promoted to the rank of deputy inspector were mostly assigned to intelligence units. Police intelligence units were accused of carrying out unauthorized operations to discredit the AK Party government.
Another investigation found associate professors at private universities linked to the Gülen movement were given the questions of their International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam.
The ÖSYM cancelled the exam for associate professor hopefuls as well.
The Gülen movement is also accused of infiltrating into top scientific and education bodies. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), whose personnel are appointed as expert witnesses for important court cases, also allegedly was infiltrated by Gülenists. Through TÜBİTAK, they allegedly seek to undermine cases or produce forged evidence.
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