25 people detained in case into illegal wiretapping

ANKARA

AA Photo

Twenty-five people were detained out of the 34 people for whom warrants were issued by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of illegal wiretapping early on May 11, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

A simultaneous operation was launched in 16 provinces, including Ankara, Şanlıurfa, Van, Kars and Eskişehir, regarding alleged illegal wiretapping conducted between 2007 and 2011.

The operation was initiated with the decision of Ankara Public Prosecutor Alparslan Karabay, who issued a warrant for 34 people allegedly conducting illegal wiretapping. 

While two of the 34 people are currently in prison, 25 were detained. 

Seventeen of the 34 were chiefs of police and three were police officers. 

The operation was launched with a notice issued by Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) Chief Inspector Ali Rıza Karahan and the current head of the HSYK’s second chamber, Mehmet Yılmaz, after research they conducted in 2014. 

The case is part of the judicial maneuvers against the followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who are accused by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government of seeking to establish a “parallel state” and orchestrating a corruption investigation targeting Erdoğan’s inner circle in December 2013 as part of a “coup” attempt.

Turkey wants Gülen extradited from the U.S., where he has been living since 1999. An Istanbul criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for Gülen as part of the probe.