(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, AUGUST 19 - Twenty police officers were
detained in Turkey early on Tuesday as part of an ongoing
investigation into alleged wiretapping which has seen hundreds
of police officers detained or removed from their posts in the
last few months as Anadolu Agency reports. The lastest round was
initiated by the chief public prosecutor's office in Izmir after
they reportedly received 50 appeals from people claiming to have
been wiretapped. The police carried out concurrent operations
after the office in Izmir issued arrest warrants for 32 suspects
in 13 Turkish provinces, mainly western port city of Izmir and
Istanbul. The operations follow a December 2013 probe which led
to the arrest of several high-profile figures, including the
sons of three former government ministers and leading business
people. All those detained in December have been released
pending trial. Prime Minister and President-elect Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's government has called the December probe a "coup
attempt" by a "parallel structure". He claims the Gulen
movement, led by US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, has
infiltrated the Turkish state and attempted to overthrow the
government. (ANSAmed).
