Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Turkish Police Detained on Wiretapping Charges

1/28/2015

ISTANBUL – Turkish prosecutors in the western city of Izmir ordered the arrest Tuesday of 26 people, mostly police officers, over their alleged involvement in the illegal wiretapping of politicians and prominent business leaders.

At least 26 people from the security forces were taken into custody, including several senior police officers and officers from other provinces, according to a statement by the prosecution on its website.

The arrests form part of an investigation into the illegal wiretapping of high-ranking army officers, academics, senior policemen and journalists allegedly carried out between 2009 and 2013.

The operation was announced Monday by the whistleblower “Fuat Avni,” the pseudonym of one or more people who have become notorious for leaking via a Twitter account details of police and judicial operations before they occur.

According to Anadolu news agency, the security operation, which is still ongoing, covers 11 provinces.

Arrests of police officers accused of illegal wiretapping began in 2013 as part of what the government describes as the fight against a “parallel state,” in reference to followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen.


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