68 people detained in tender corruption claims in university

Turkish police detained 68 people on Nov. 18 in an operation into corruption allegations in the tender processes at Mardin Artuklu University, in simultaneous raids across seven provinces.

The university’s deputy rector and the head of the Living Languages Institute, Prof. Kadri Yıldırım, secretary Süleyman Bayburt, deputy secretary Sedat Gül and Fine Arts faculty dean Prof. Zekiye Sarıkartal were among the 68 detainees.

The police also searched Rector Serdar Bedii Omay’s rooms and the rooms of his deputies, seizing their computers’ hard drives, as well as many files as part of an investigation into the allegations of conspiring to rig the bid for the university located in the southeastern province of Mardin.

The operation was carried out with the permission of the Higher Education Board (YÖK).

The suspects’ testimonies were taken late on Nov. 18, after medical examinations were conducted at  hospital. The investigation into the allegations had first started on July 12, according to the reports.