31 detained police officers suspended from duty

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The questioning of the 31 police officers continued in Istanbul Aug. 6.

A total of 31 police officers, who were among the 33 police officers for whom a detainment order is sought, have been suspended from his duties.

Early Aug. 5, 31 police officers were detained in a second operation as part of the “illegal wiretapping” probe in 14 provinces across Turkey and their questioning still continued yesterday. The police are still searching for two other officers. Police raided colleagues’ residences at a number of addresses around Istanbul and in several other cities. The 28 detained police officers included one officer from the police intelligence unit in Kahramanmaraş, three from the Hakkari police department and five from the police departments in Van and Bitlis, Anadolu Agency reported.

Most of the detained are low-ranking officers, in contrast to last month’s arrests, which targeted police chiefs and senior officers.

In the first wave of the operation last month, a total of 31 police officers were arrested after 115 officers were detained in overnight raids July 22. Eleven police officers were arrested on July 30 as part of the investigation into the alleged illegal wiretapping of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.