April 8, 2014

Eight police officers in Adana detained over claims of illegal wiretapping

Eight police officers, including one woman and one retired officer, were detained on Tuesday in the southern province of Adana as part of an investigation into allegations of illegal wiretapping.

Some news sources claimed that the investigation was based on news reports in some newspapers about claims of illegal wiretapping, but did not indicate which newspapers had made the claims. Some pro-government newspapers have for some time been running articles which claim, albeit without providing any evidence to back up the allegations, that the faith-based Hizmet movement has been illegally wiretapping state institutions as well as top state officials.

The officers were detained after their houses were raided and searched in an operation carried out by a special team set up at the Adana Police Department and its anti-terror department. It was not immediately clear if evidence of any crimes was discovered at the officers' houses. The investigation is being coordinated by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the police officers are allegedly being investigated on suspicion of “carrying out illegal wiretapping using false names” and “participating in illegal acts.”

The possibility of such an operation has been discussed for a long time, with media reports mentioning possible government action to launch a new purge in the police over claims of an illegal network within the National Police Department.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ spoke to reporters about the investigation, saying that prosecutors are following the issue and there was nothing extraordinary about the investigation. He declined to comment on a question as to whether the detention of the police officers is part of a major operation the government has been planning to launch against the Hizmet movement.

The former deputy head of the Adana Police Department, İsmail Bilgin, and the department's former chief, Ertuğrul Yetkin, were among those detained. News sources said that most of the detained officers had been removed from their posts since the corruption operation of Dec. 17, 2013, which implicated some senior members of the government and some of their close relatives.

Since Dec. 17, 2013, more than 7,000 police officers, including hundreds of police chiefs, have been removed from their posts. A majority of them have been demoted to less significant positions within the country's police departments.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reacted furiously to the corruption investigation, decrying an attempted "judicial coup" which his supporters see as orchestrated by the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. The prime minister has reassigned thousands of police officers, more than a hundred judges and prosecutors and has purged official bodies of senior figures he suspects of being followers of Fethullah Gülen.

The operation is being supervised by Adana Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ali Doğan. Adana Governor Hüseyin Avni Coş visited the Adana Police Department several times on Tuesday; the purpose of the visits is not clear.

After being detained, the police officers were taken to a hospital for a health check. One of the officers, when leaving the hospital, told the media that they “didn't sell or betray the country.” The officers were later taken to Adana Police Department for questioning.

In January, Adana Chief Public Prosecutor Özcan Şişman ordered police and gendarmerie forces to stop and search Syria-bound trucks on suspicions of transporting arms. The incident drew the ire of the government, which claimed at the time that the trucks were carrying humanitarian aid and had nothing to do with any kind of arms cargo.

The government soon removed the prosecutor, police chiefs and one gendarme commander who took part in the operation. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government argued that the local security forces did not have the authority to search trucks that belonged to the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), which raised questions about the operation, such as how the prosecutor and police chiefs got the information about the Syria-bound trucks.

Tuesday's operation has raised suspicions as to whether the AK Party has kicked off a witch-hunt against the Hizmet movement, which the prime minister recently threatened to “punish with a large-scale operation.” There has been increased chatter in the Turkish capital about whether the government may soon launch a probe in order to harass its opponents, especially people and companies affiliated with the Hizmet movement.

The rumors began spreading after Erdoğan, who emerged victorious from the March 30 local elections, threatened the Hizmet movement by saying “we will go into their lairs,” and accused followers of Hizmet of treason without offering any evidence to back up his claims.

Purges continue in Aydın, Bursa

Seventy police officers at police departments in Aydın and two others in Bursa were reassigned on Tuesday as part of the government's unceasing move to clear the police force of its critics.

The reassigned police officers at the Aydın Police Department were moved to less influential posts in Aydın's districts.

Public Security Unit chief Mesut Bilgeç was appointed to Germencik District Police Department while Social Services Unit chief Kubilay Erçin was placed in charge of the Public Security Unit. Didim District Police Department chief Sinan Ergen will now lead the Anti-Terrorism Unit while Anti-Terrorism Unit chief Turgut Geleken was appointed to the Kuyucak District Police Department.

In Bursa, Anti-Smuggling Unit chief Erol Turan was removed from his post and appointed as head of the Children's Unit. In addition, Children's Unit chief İdris Seyman was appointed to the Communications Electronics and Information Systems Unit.

Published on Cihan, 08 April 2014, Tuesday

Related Articles
Print | Save as PDF