Turkey removed 350 police officers from their posts in a midnight purge in Ankara on Tuesday, as the government continues its response to a sweeping public corruption probe.
The 350 officers were part of units covering terrorism, intelligence, organized crimes, financial crimes, cyber crimes and smuggling, the Hurriyet Daily News reports. Among those dismissed included 80 police chiefs and the deputy head of Ankara’s police forces. It was the single biggest government action so far in seeming retaliation :since police scrutiny of government-connected officials started last month. The number of firings and reassignments of officials in the capital since the graft probe began is now total 600, Bloomberg reports. Many of the officers were reassigned to lower posts, according to local news outlets.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that the corruption probe is a conspiracy ultimately targeting him.