Arrangement on illegal wiretapping to cover up corruption claims, nationalist party leader says

ANKARA

‘The prime minister and his government’s preparation for a legal arrangement about wiretapping is a sly attempt to cover up bribery claims,’ Bahçeli says. CİHAN photo

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli interpreted the government’s plans for a new arrangement on illegal wiretapping as a move aimed at covering up their own wrongdoings.

“The prime minister and his government’s preparation for a legal arrangement about wiretapping are sly attempts at covering up the bribery and corruption claims they have been involved in,” Bahçeli said yesterday, while addressing his party’s lawmakers at a regular parliamentary group meeting.

The government attempt to abolish special authorized courts was also for this purpose, Bahçeli added.

Citing details of the amendment, Bahçeli said the basics of the new law were already similar to the current principles, but the legislation would merely bring one month period of restriction on wiretapping organized crimes.

The MHP leader accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of falling on deaf ears on earlier wiretapping regarding soldiers, politicians, journalists, and academics.

People were tapped without court rulings in order to use for the “coup files,” private lives were interfered with, but the prime minister remained silent, Bahçeli said.

Those wiretappings would continue if the prime minister’s family was not targeted, he added.