Six Turkish police officers arrested in wiretapping probe

İZMİR – Anadolu Agency

Sixteen people have been released, while 10 others are still being questioned. DHA Photo

Six police officers were arrested in Turkey on Aug. 22 as part of an ongoing wiretapping investigation in which hundreds of officers have been detained or removed from their posts in recent months.
      
Simultaneous raids were conducted across Turkey after arrest warrants were issued for 32 suspects in 13 Turkish provinces, mainly in the western port city Izmir and Istanbul. Sixteen people have been released, while 10 others are still being questioned.
      
The former police chief of the oil-rich southeastern province Batman, Hasan Ali Okan, was also arrested.
      
The operations follow a December 2013 probe that led to the arrest of several high-profile figures, including the sons of three former government ministers and business people.
      
All those detained in the earlier December raids have been released pending trial.
      
Prime Minister and President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has called the December anti-graft probe, which targeted several government ministers, a “coup attempt” by a “parallel structure.”
      
He claims the Gülen movement, led by U.S.-based scholar Fethullah Gülen, has infiltrated the Turkish state and attempted to overthrow the government.