Three Sought, Two Arrested İn Turkey's Wiretapping Probe

Two suspects, who were previously released after detention, have been arrested early on Friday in Ankara in a probe of illegal wiretapping, security sources said on Friday.



The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Chief Prosecutor in the capital into the alleged creation of an illegal organization as part of a plot against the government, dubbed the 'parallel state.'



An Ankara court ordered the detention of five suspects -- all of whom had first been discharged by the criminal court they had been referred to for detention-- due to an exception by a public prosecutor.



Public Prosecutor Tekin Kucuk from the Bureau of Investigation into Crimes against Institutional Order had filed an objection to the court decision releasing the suspects.



After considering the objection, the 8th Criminal Court of Peace of Ankara issued arrest warrants for the former police chiefs of the Batman Province Hasan Ali Okan and Ali Arslantas along with Emre Baykal, Huseyin Ozbilgin and Seyit Golcuk.



Baykal and Ozbilgin have been arrested. Baykal has been detained by the penal court he was taken to, while Ozbilgin is yet to be referred to the court.



To date, hundreds of police officers have been detained and have testified in the probe. Suspects are accused of eavesdropping on Turkey's top officials and of disclosing information of a highly sensitive nature as well as of "forming an organization to commit crime and being a member of this organization," "violating privacy," "illegally seizing personal information" and "forgery of official documents."



The Turkish government, blaming the Gulen movement led by U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen for the wiretapping, also accuses the network of attempting to infiltrate the Turkish state and plotting to overthrow the government.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara