Baykal goes to court over bribe claims

ANKARA

Former main opposition leader Deniz Baykal filed a criminal complaint yesterday over bribe allegations that police allegedly made against him at briefing at the U.S. Embassy, according to a leaked cable published by WikiLeaks.

In the petition, he urged prosecutors to investigate both himself as well as the police on the grounds that they had failed to launch an investigation against him despite the alleged existence of evidence, CNN Türk news channel reported.

“The claims reported by the press should be taken as a tip-off, and Baykal should be investigated as required,” said the complaint filed by Baykal’s lawyer Muzaffer Yılmaz.
“An investigation must be launched into which security officials attended the meeting and who made the claims against Baykal.”

Turkish police briefed the U.S. embassy in 2008 on the controversial probe into Ergenekon, the purported network that allegedly sought to foment political chaos and pave the way for a military coup to oust the Justice and Development Party (AKP), according to the cable.