Two more policemen suspected in Turkey's illegal wiretapping probe surrender

İZMİR – Anadolu Agency

DHA Photo

The number of suspected policemen detained since Tuesday as part of the latest operation in the illegal wiretapping probe has reached 22, after two more police officers surrendered to authorities on Jan. 29.

Earlier, 20 policemen, detained on charges of being involved in an illegal wiretapping case, were sent to court for questioning.

Warrants were issued for the suspected policemen in Izmir and other provinces, including the capital Ankara as well as Istanbul, Denizli, Erzurum, Malatya, Muş, Trabzon, Hakkari and Şırnak.

İzmir’s prosecutor office had said the operation was launched after it received complaints from citizens that their communications were illegally intercepted by the members of the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement.

According to the İzmir governor office, 92 people, including high-ranking army officers, academics, senior policemen and journalists, were illegally wiretapped between 2009 and 2013.

Earlier in 2014, a similar operation was launched in İzmir and 13 other provinces, in which 32 suspects were detained after a newspaper story revealed several public servants were being illegally wiretapped. All the suspects were later released by the court pending trial.

To date, hundreds of police officers have been detained and questioned in the alleged wiretapping probe.

The continued operations follow a December 2013 probe which led to the arrest of several high-profile figures, including the sons of three former government ministers and leading business people. All those detained in the operation were later released pending trial.