ANKARA
Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said Thursday the ongoing preliminary investigation into four former Cabinet ministers accused of corruption should remain confidential.
Turkish lawmakers Wednesday put off debates on an inquiry committee into the charges until after the March 30 local elections.
Cicek's remarks on Thursday come as ruling AK Party submitted a motion of investigation, following a similar move by the main opposition Republican People's Party on Wednesday.
The motions are to be discussed within a month of their submission in a plenary meeting that will decide whether a parliamentary inquiry into the charges should begin.
"Everyone should stay within the boundaries of law in their speech and actions," Cicek said. "Confidentiality is essential during a preliminary investigation."
Turkish MPs on Wednesday rejected holding a general meeting on whether to establish a parliamentary committee to investigate the corruption charges against the four former ministers -- Muammer Guler, Erdogan Bayraktar, Zafer Caglayan, and Egemen Bagis.
They left the cabinet, three in resignation and Bagis after a reshuffle, in the wake of anti-graft investigations launched in December last year.
The AK Party has expressed its commitment to forming a committee to look into the charges, and has the majority to have it passed in the parliament.
The 15-member committee would have legal authority to prosecute the charges against the ministers. If it finds grounds for a trial, it could suggest in its report to the General Assembly that the ministers be deferred to a supreme criminal tribunal after a parliamentary vote.
The December 17 probe saw the detention of the sons of the three former ministers -- Guler, Bayraktar, and Caglayan -- as well as high profile businessmen and the head of the state-owned lender Halkbank. Those detained were later released pending trial.
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