Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Green Left Party has shared a parody video targeting Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, who recently demonstrated an app on his phone that can identify a person in just two seconds after taking their photo.
The satirical video, shared by the Green Left Party with the caption “When the KİM app scans Soylu’s photo…”, shows a clip of Soylu boasting about the interior ministry’s expertise in using technology, followed by photos of the minister side-by-side with individuals who have been convicted of crimes or are accused of being guilty.
Minister Soylu’s photos with alleged or convicted drug traffickers, individuals who were involved in corruption, crime syndicate leaders and perpetrators of femicide have long been on the Turkish agenda. The fact that Soylu has been photographed side by side with several criminals in the past has been frequently criticised by the opposition.
The mobile app called “KİM” (a Turkish word that means “who” in English), which was demonstrated by Soylu in a video posted on YouTube last week, has been met with criticism from lawyers and politicians for violating personal data processing regulations and potentially enabling government surveillance.
The interior minister has not yet commented on the video or the controversy surrounding the KİM app.
