6 hours agoTurkey's Foreign Minister “targeted” : Charged for counterfeiting academic diplomas
Periskopi(10 months ago)
(10 months ago)Reports of the suspicious academic credentials of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan are causing unrest in Turkey, with the opposition calling it a “crisis of state credibility” and the government calling the accusations a “back-to-face slander”. From the U.S. Controversial diploma to the master diplomat in Bilkent, the case has become a trumpet. [...]
From the US university contractive diploma to the master diplomat in Bilkent, the issue has become a political trumpet that is damaging Ankara's image both inside and abroad.
The case involving Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan began to take shape several months after his appointment by Recep Tayyip Erdogan in June 2023. Media, such as News About Turkey, had expressed doubts about his academic formation, describing master's thesis at Bilkent University as “cut and sewn” for his career in intelligence services and suggesting they were not written by him, broadcast Periscope.
The true “Bomba” came in 2025, when journalist and academicist Emre Uslu questioned Fidan's university degree in the United States. The minister claims he graduated with a Bachelor degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland College (UMUC). At that time, however, the university did not offer such a programme, only a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Anti-Dezinform Centre dismissed the charges, calling them a “libel campaign” from the network Thank you. They even published a document from the Y⇩K that, according to them, confirms Fidan's legitimacy of academic qualifications. “Do not submit to baseless accusations aimed at manipulating public opinion”, they said.
The case is taking on ever larger proportions, as it also relates to a recent counterfeit scandal, in which 35 people with forged diplomas are allegedly involved in key state positions.
