An ORSA TV program broadcast on June 1, 2020, examined claims that a profiling system known as “FETÖMETRE” was created and used to carry out mass purges from Turkish state institutions, particularly the Turkish Armed Forces, after Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
ORSA TV described the system as a coordinated “human rights clipping machine” created by what it called an organized network inside the government and state institutions to enable purges from public bodies.
Program examines legal basis for purge system
The program said the FETÖMETRE issue would be addressed in two stages. The first episode focused on how the system was put into practice, what road map was followed and which actors helped implement it, using documents presented during the discussion.
The follow-up episode was planned with Senior Master Sgt. Ersin Demircan, who had served in the Judicial Monitoring, Administrative Procedure and Review Branch, known by its Turkish initials as ATİİİ. ORSA TV described that branch as the “FETÖMETRE operation center.”
The next program, according to the description, would examine each criterion in the profiling system through concrete examples from real cases.
The June 1 episode asked what powers were granted to public institutions for purges under Emergency Decree No. 667, one of the first decrees issued after the coup attempt during Turkey’s state of emergency.
It also examined how officials responsible for carrying out dismissals were appointed and how the ATİİİ Branch was established.
Questions over accountability and pressure on prosecutors
The program also addressed legal arrangements that allegedly protected those applying the profiling system from being held responsible for unlawful actions.
Another topic was how prosecutors were allegedly pressured to take FETÖMETRE criteria into account when making judicial decisions.
ORSA TV said the episode would explore how politics, judicial bodies and public institutions allegedly acted in coordination during the purges and how they continue to do so.
The program also asked how a legal framework and public perception were created to legitimize the profiling system.
One of the most direct questions posed in the description was whether there is a “parallel structure” inside the state that uses the judiciary as an instrument of social destruction.
Program frames purge as organized state abuse
The episode placed the FETÖMETRE system within the broader post-coup purge of the Turkish Armed Forces and other state institutions. It argued that dismissals were not merely administrative acts but part of a coordinated campaign carried out through profiling, legal manipulation and pressure on prosecutors.
For ORSA TV, the central issue was how a system presented as a tool for identifying alleged security risks became, in practice, a mechanism for mass removal, stigmatization and prosecution.
The program invited viewers to send questions about the topics discussed and to share criticism and suggestions for the newly launched channel.
The video below presents the full discussion on FETÖMETRE, Emergency Decree No. 667, the ATİİİ Branch and the alleged coordination among political, judicial and administrative actors in Turkey’s post-coup purge process.
