A report released by the UK-based international human rights organization StateWatch, quoted by online media Balkan Insight, said Turkey was using an algorithm to identify government opponents in the Turkish armed forces. We can read that more than 20,000 soldiers have been dismissed since a failed coup attempt in 2016 on the basis of algorithms.
The test, known as the FETO meter, is used to detect government enemies
“The report traces the use of algorithms and other information-based systems by the Turkish government in its relentless fight against terrorism since the events of July 2016. Thousands of people have been fired, detained and harassed, citing results from the so-called FETO-meter “, said Ali Yildiz, one of the authors of the report. Yildiz added that “this situation is far from unique for Turkey, as many countries have resorted to tracking tools in the fight against terrorism and the possibility of anyone falling victim to algorithmic persecution is high.” The report serves as a “signal to raise awareness of the devastating effects of algorithmic persecution and oppression not only in Turkey but around the world,” Yildiz added.
The so-called FETO-meter is based on 97 basic criteria and 290 sub-criteria, many of which violate privacy. The name refers to the supporters of the clergyman Fethullah Gulen. After the failed coup attempt in July 2016, Erdogan spoke of the FETO terrorist organization founded by Gulen, but Gulen himself denied this and even condemned the coup attempt.
Human Rights violations
Issues for profiling and scoring suspects in the military include information on their marital status, education, bank accounts, their children’s schools, promotions and recommendations in the military. The questionnaire requires information about relatives and neighbors. “Hundreds of thousands of people have been profiled and evaluated by the algorithm, which is managed by a special unit called the Judicial Proceedings and Administrative Service within the Turkish Navy,” said Emre Turkut, an expert in international law. for Human Rights from the Hertie School Berlin. Turkut said the report included testimonies from several high-ranking former military officers who had sought asylum in the EU after being targeted by the system, and stressed that the application of the algorithm was arbitrary and followed by punitive measures not only against key suspects. , but also against everyone in their social circle, including family members, colleagues and neighbors.
Since 2016, 292,000 people have been detained and nearly 598,000 people are being investigated for their alleged links to Gulen, Balkan Insight recalls. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense and Interior, nearly 21,000 members of the armed forces, 31,000 police officers, more than 5,500 gendarmerie officers and 509 coastguards have also lost their jobs due to alleged links to Gulen. More than 30,000 people are still in prison for alleged links to the cleric, and more than 125,000 civil servants have been fired.
