Turkey launches fresh raids over wiretapping case

Turkish media reported on Sunday that the raids had been launched in several cities as a result of 21 arrest warrants issued by the prosecutor's office in Istanbul.

It wasn't immediately clear how many of the suspects, all polices officers, had been arrested and prosecutors were not available for comment. However, Turkish television station NTV broadcast footage of several suspects being led away by plain clothes police.

The warrants were issued in connection with a scandal in which wiretap recordings of senior officials were leaked and posted on the Internet, which shook the government in late 2013, while Erdogan was still prime minister.

Corruption allegations

Erdogan and his supporters have accused his arch-rival, the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, of orchestrating the wiretapping scandal in an effort to implicate the then-prime ministers in corruption allegations. Erdogan has also accused Gulen of setting up a "parallel state" in a bid to topple him.

Among the conversations leaked, was one that emerged in February 2014, in which Erdogan allegedly instructed his son Bilal to dispose of 30 million euros ($37 million) in cash.

Since the middle of last year, dozens of police officers have been detained in connection with the scandal. Some of the suspects arrested in previous raids have been accused of setting up bugs to eavesdrop on Erdogan and members of his inner circle.

Late last year, a Turkish court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Gulen, accusing him of heading a criminal organization. The authorities also recently revoked his passport.

Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, has denied plotting against the government.

In one series of raids conducted in December, police arrested more than two dozen people, including a number of journalists in connection with the scandal. Among them was the editor-in-chief of the Zaman newspaper, whose supporters have ties to Gulen.

These raids in particular drew international condemnation, including from the European Union.

pfd/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa)