Opposition lawmaker in search for ‘bugs’

Bülent Sarıoğlu ANKARA

Main opposition CHP Istanbul deputy Umut Oran’s attempt to find out whether he is being legally or illegally wiretapped has failed to bring any result.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul deputy Umut Oran’s attempt to find out whether he is being legally or illegally wiretapped has failed to bring any result.

Oran applied to the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB), the Police Department, the Gendarmerie General Command and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) asking whether he or any of his family members were being wiretapped by any of the institutions.

However, TİB head Ahmet Cemaleddin Çelik sent a statement to Oran on Aug. 22 saying that the TİB did not have the right to give direct information to people about wiretappings.

He also said any information could be given to the institutions which conducted the wiretappings to determine whether the eavesdropping was part of intelligence work.

The Police Department also sent a response letter to Oran on Sept. 15 saying that such wiretappings could only be conducted via court orders and that the “principle of secrecy was in effect for the monitoring of communication and the revelation of this information.”