January 16, 2014

Opposition asks for parliamentary session on MİT wiretapping

Opposition parties have asked for a parliamentary session to address wiretappings carried out by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), following the emergence of audio recordings of influential social figures on the Internet.

Gülen files criminal complaint over illegal wiretapping

Prominent Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has filed a criminal complaint against those who illegally wiretapped the scholar's many phone conversations with friends and also the media outlets and websites which published the distorted voice recordings of Gülen in a defamation campaign.

Ambassadors uneasy over Erdoğan's orders concerning graft probe

Turkey's ambassadors have expressed displeasure over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks that called on them to "tell the truth" to their foreign interlocutors, saying that defending the government against corruption allegations in not the ambassadors' business.

Coup Commission members: Now is similar to Feb. 28 coup period

Members of the parliamentary Coup and Memorandum Investigation Commission, set up to investigate past coups, have said a number of anti-democratic moves begun after the launch of a wide-reaching corruption investigation, including the removal of thousands of civil servants and discrimination against members of a faith-based group, have said the practices are similar to what occurred in the run-up to the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed coup.

PM's order echoes 2004 MGK decision

The prime minister's order that Turkish ambassadors “tell the truth” to their foreign interlocutors about the corruption probe has brought to mind a controversial National Security Council (MGK) document indicating that Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) agreed to a planned crackdown on the Hizmet movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen in 2004.