IZMIR, Turkey
Two Turkish policemen detained in connection with an illegal-wiretapping probe have been released on bail, an Izmir court said on Monday.
The two high-profile police officers, Memduh Tosun and Taner Aydin, were arrested on Saturday and questioned for 18 hours.
Last Thursday, the Izmir prosecutor’s office issued warrants for the arrest of 26 policemen – including Tosun and Aydin – in Izmir, Ankara and Istanbul, on charges of being involved in illegal wiretapping.
Fourteen of them were referred to court last Saturday, with a recommendation they face charges; the other 12 were released but prohibited from leaving the country. However, the Izmir court only went ahead with proceedings against Tosun and Aydin.
The pair was suspected of "forming an organization to commit crime, forgery of official documents, fabricating crimes, slender, breaching private life and recording personal data."
According to the Izmir governorate, 92 people, including high-ranking army officers, academics, senior policemen and journalists, were illegally wiretapped between 2009 and 2013.
To date, hundreds of police officers have been detained and questioned in the alleged wiretapping probe.
The ongoing 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.
The government has blamed the wiretapping case on the Gulen movement, led by U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, and the alleged “parallel state,” of attempting to infiltrate and undermine the Turkish administration.
