Interior minister denies police were forced to donate money to Turkish gov't campaign against COVID-19

Duvar English

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has refuted claims of police being forced to donate money to a government campaign against the coronavirus pandemic, saying that there are those who choose to donate.

"The state has a legal campaign and there may be officers who want to support it. I won't meddle with that," Soylu told daily Sözcü on April 6.

The minister's remarks were in response to claims by journalist Fatih Portakal, who said that salaries of police officers will be cut in order for the money to be donated to the campaign.

Milli kampanyanın emniyet tarifesi: polis memur 100, komiser/amir 150,4.3.2. derece müdürler 250,1.sınıf müdür 500 TL. Dilekçe doldurmaları istenmiş.15’inde maaslardan kesilecek! @TC_icisleri resmi yazısız ve tebliğsiz olduğu iddiasi doğru mudur?

— fatih portakal (@fatihportakal) April 5, 2020

In a tweet on April 5, Portakal said that police officers are forced to donate 100 Turkish Liras, while the amount is 150 liras for police chiefs, 250 liras for fourth, third and second level chiefs and 500 liras for first level chiefs.

"They were asked to fill out a form. The money will be cut from their salaries on the 15th," Portakal said.

Soylu, in return, said that the donations are organized within the branches and no officer is forced to sign the forms given to them.

The campaign in question was launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 30 with the aim of collecting donations from citizens and distributing the collected money to those in need.

Since then, claims of forced donations are being reported, including in the Education Ministry and BOTAŞ.