Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization
| Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism | |
|---|---|
| Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele | |
| Active | Late 1980s – present (unofficially, as JİTEM) 2005 – present (officially, as JİT) |
| Country | Turkey |
| Branch | Gendarmerie General Command |
| Type | Intelligence agency |
The Gendarmerie Intelligence Organization (Turkish: Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı, JİT) or the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism (Jandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele, JİTEM) is the intelligence department of the Turkish Gendarmerie. JİTEM was active in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. After the Susurluk scandal, former prime ministers Bülent Ecevit and Mesut Yılmaz have confirmed the existence of JİTEM.
According to Murat Belge of Istanbul Bilgi University, who has reported that he was tortured in 1971 by its founder, Veli Küçük, JİTEM is an embodiment of the deep state. In other words, it is used by "the Establishment" to enforce alleged national interests. It is also said to be the military wing of Ergenekon, an underground Turkish nationalist organization. In 2008, long-maintained official denials of JİTEM's existence started collapsing in the courts, as ex-members of Turkey's "deep state" security apparatus testify to their participation in covert and illegal activities over the last few decades as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation.