Turkey arrests 33 cops accused of tapping leadership: Report
7 Aug 2014 4:14 AM IST
Turkish authorites on Tuesday arrested dozens of police officers accused of illegally wire-tapping top officials including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, local media reported.
In the latest apparent crackdown on the opponents of the premiere before he runs in presidential polls, at least 33 police officers were detained in 14 provinces across the country, private NTV television reported.
The operation started with an early morning raid on a housing complex for police officers and their families in Istanbul, but raids were also carried out in cities in the Kurdish-majority southeast. It is part of a sweep against the movement of Erdogan’s former ally Fethullah Gulen in the wake of a vast corruption scandal that broke late last year implicating the prime minister and his inner circle.
A total of 31 police officers, including high-ranking officials, were charged last week with a number of offences including forming and running a criminal gang, espionage, illegal wire-tapping and forgery.
In the latest apparent crackdown on the opponents of the premiere before he runs in presidential polls, at least 33 police officers were detained in 14 provinces across the country, private NTV television reported.
The operation started with an early morning raid on a housing complex for police officers and their families in Istanbul, but raids were also carried out in cities in the Kurdish-majority southeast. It is part of a sweep against the movement of Erdogan’s former ally Fethullah Gulen in the wake of a vast corruption scandal that broke late last year implicating the prime minister and his inner circle.
A total of 31 police officers, including high-ranking officials, were charged last week with a number of offences including forming and running a criminal gang, espionage, illegal wire-tapping and forgery.
Next Story
