Wiretapping of PM to be counted as espionage crime

Ümit ÇETİN - Mesut Hasan BENLİ ANKARA - Hürriyet

The penalties for illegal wiretapping will also be strengthened in a government-led draft law. DHA photo

The investigation into the bugs discovered at the office and home of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been transferred to a prosecutor’s office dealing with anti-terror cases on the grounds that it involved an espionage crime.

The investigation launched in February 2012 and conducted by the employee crimes department, was transferred after being considered within the spectrum of crimes against “state security.” 

The development comes amid a government move to scrap all special courts, including those authorized by the Anti-Terrorism Law. 

Erdoğan made public on Dec. 21, 2012, that wiretapping devices had been found in his Prime Ministry office and home, causing much uproar.

As recently as on Jan. 30, Erdoğan told reporters that his family, President Abdullah Gül and Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek had all been wiretapped. He vowed to introduce new measures on eavesdropping, revealing that courts for serious crimes will have the most important say on the issue. 

Erdoğan said articles from the Anti-Terror Law would be transferred entirely to the Penal Code and that ongoing cases would also be transferred to courts for serious crimes

Three prosecutors were tasked to carry out the investigation which contains eight folders. Erdoğan is expected to make public in the coming days a detailed inspection on the case, which was recently concluded.