Prosecutors face probe for violation of privacy

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) has launched preliminary enquiry into two special-authority prosecutors for exposing details of the private lives of unrelated parties in high-profile court cases.

Prosecutor Mehmet Berk is being probed on the basis of complaints over the indictment he drew up in the match-fixing scandal, which included wiretapped calls between suspects in the case who commented about pop singer Demet Akalın and footballer-turned-lawmaker Hakan Şükür, according to the Habertürk news channel.

Separately, prosecutor Cihan Kansız is under probe over similar breaches in the indictment in the Oda TV case, which included conversations between one of the defendants, journalist Nedim Şener, and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, according to Habertürk. The complaint against Kansız was filed by CHP deputy Atilla Kart.

The outcome of the enquiries will determine whether the two prosecutors will face judicial investigation. Prosecutors have long been under fire for their proclivity to include materials exposing the private lives of unrelated people in a series of high-profile court cases, mostly concerning the Ergenekon network, which allegedly sought to destabilize the government.

In a related development, the HSYK rejected criticism that the former prosecutors in the embezzlement investigation into the Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) charity had been indicted as part of government-backed effort to cover up the scandal.

“The permission to investigate and prosecute the three prosecutors is based on allegations that they tampered with official documents and abused their authority, and not because they uncovered certain facts,” the board said in a statement Jan. 3.

The three prosecutors, who were removed from the probe last year, risk jail terms of up to 11 years and expulsion from the profession.