New Purge Of Turkish Police, Judicial Officials

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey has begun a new purge of police and the judicial officials as the parliament debates controversial government moves to tighten its control of the judiciary.

Some 470 police were sacked or reassigned on January 22in the capital, Ankara, local media and national news channel NTV reported.

And 12 police chiefs in the port city of Izmir were also removed, the Dogan news agency reported.

The moves come one day after Turkey's Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors fired 96 judges and prosecutors.

The actions are the latest in a series of purges of police and judicial officials after several high-profile people were arrested on corruption charges.

Most of those arrested were either relatives of or had connections to government officials, including the sons of cabinet ministers.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been criticized for the purges.

Erdogan is currently in Brussels for talks on Turkey's EU membership bid.


Based on reporting by AFP and NTV