Süleyman Soylu shares post titled '7 Questions 7 Answers': Stop lying, Özgür

AKP Istanbul MP Süleyman Soylu released a statement on his social media account titled, "The facts regarding the chain of lies by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel concerning the 505 individuals with links and affiliations to terrorism who were hired by the IMM despite not being eligible, '7 Questions 7 Answers'." Sharing the statement on his social media account, Soylu said, "Stop lying, Özgür. Stop distorting the facts."

Soylu's post titled "7 questions 7 answers" regarding Özgür Özel's statements is as follows:

"Following the March 31, 2019 Local Administration Elections, intelligence reports emerged suggesting that efforts were being made to revive terrorist organization activities within municipalities by hiring individuals with links to terrorism, even though these had been previously thwarted with great effort; consequently, it was decided to initiate an investigation within the scope of terrorism crimes.

In this direction, (with the approval of the Ministry of Interior dated 20/12/2021), Civil Service Inspectors and Local Administration Controllers were assigned to conduct comprehensive research and examinations on the subject at the IMM, IETT, ISKI, and Municipal Subsidiaries (30 companies), and a total of 88 investigations were conducted in 74 municipalities between 2019 and 2022. The inspection, which was carried out by an 8-person inspection board consisting of Ministry of Interior Civil Service Inspectors, Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Treasury and Finance Inspectors, and a MASAK expert, and covered the period between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021, was completed on August 26, 2022.

'578-PAGE REPORT'

The 578-page referral report dated December 6, 2022, prepared regarding the officials of the IMM, IETT, ISKI, and municipal subsidiaries who had responsibilities in the recruitment processes of individuals with links and affiliations to terrorist organizations, was transferred to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on December 9, 2022; the investigation based on the report in question is still with the judicial authorities.

According to the findings obtained as a result of the inspection, as of that date; a total of 25 thousand 361 people were hired for the first time. It was determined that 4 thousand 227 of these individuals were currently subject to ongoing judicial investigations and prosecutions, that 147 of them were under investigation for 'crimes related to terrorist organizations or committed against the constitutional order,' and that 66 of them had conviction decisions for the same crime. Furthermore, it was determined that 709 individuals and 959 of their relatives had records of affiliation and judicial records indicating they were linked to terrorist organizations.

The distribution of the identified individuals according to organizations is as follows: FETÖ/PDY: 875, PKK/KCK: 432, DHKP/C: 143, THKP/C: 66, TKP/ML: 64, MLKP: 33, DAESH: 3, Al-Qaeda: 1, and other organizations: 51

"6 OF THE 432 PEOPLE ARE FROM THE MOUNTAIN CADRE"

It was understood that 6 of the 432 people linked or affiliated with the PKK/KCK terrorist organization were engaged in armed activities in the organization's mountain cadre, and 36 were members of the organization's 'so-called Family of Values' (families of neutralized members of the terrorist organization). It was determined that 484 of the 505 people whose records were considered to potentially pose an obstacle to their entry were hired without security investigations being conducted, in other words, without researching whether they were linked or affiliated with terrorist organizations and/or without evaluating their situations.

Again, the findings obtained from this investigation showed us that those responsible did not see any harm in employing individuals linked and affiliated with terrorist organizations in units containing confidential information; and similarly, they did not see any harm in employing individuals with records of sexual harassment in units such as social services where women and children are densely present.

"THERE ARE THOSE WHO RESORT TO FRAUD IN CRIMINAL RECORDS"

In addition, fraud was resorted to in obtaining criminal records for some individuals; while the documents should have been obtained by selecting 'Public' from the Public/Private option on the e-Government system, they were obtained by selecting the 'Private' option. It was determined that as of December 31, 2021, security investigations and archive research were not requested for 15 thousand 125 of the 25 thousand 361 people hired, and that the evaluation commission, which is required to be established by legislation for personnel hired for the first time in municipal subsidiary companies, was not established.

After the investigation was moved to judicial authorities, requests for archive research and security investigations began to be sent from the IMM to the Istanbul Governorship, and before the inspector's report was even submitted to the court, around 120 people were hastily fired due to security investigations, and some of them accused the IMM of cowardice and held a protest in front of the municipality.

Meetings held with the association named Diayder, which was established in line with the instructions of the PKK terrorist organization and against which an investigation has been initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the fact that members placed in municipalities by Diayder transferred a portion of their salaries to the association, the sharing of shopping cards given to Diayder by the IMM among the so-called Families of Values affiliated with the terrorist organization, the payment for the calendars printed by Diayder for the year 2021 being covered by the IMM, etc. etc.

All of these are the results of the investigation conducted by the Civil Service Inspectors and Local Administration Controllers at that time, and the 578-page referral report dated December 6, 2022, was transferred to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on December 9, 2022; the investigation based on the report in question is still with the judicial authorities. You can only go so far with lies and deceit irresponsibly thrown from podiums. When facts speak with information, documents, and data, you will look for a place to hide."

News Source: İHA