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Dozens detained in Turkish graft probe (Video)
By Gul Tuysuz, CNN
December 17, 2013 -- Updated 1951 GMT (0351 HKT)
Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- The sons of at least three government ministers, the head of a public bank, several bureaucrats and high-profile businessmen were detained by Turkish police Tuesday as part of a sweeping corruption probe, state-run media reported.
Analysts called the move a signal of the growing rift within Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party ahead of local elections in the spring. The detentions came after a two-year probe by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office into allegations of corruption including money laundering, gold smuggling and bribery, according to the semi-official Anadolu news agency.
*SNIP*
The sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar were detained in the raids, according to local media. The head of a large construction company, Ali Agaoglu, was also brought in within the scope of the investigation, though the CEO of the company later told Dogan News Agency that Agaoglu was not the focus of the investigation.
Local commentators and analysts see the raids as the most public confirmation of the developing rift between Erdogan’s ruling party and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric living in Pennsylvania {my emphasis} whose loose network of followers are thought to hold key positions within the judiciary and police force.
The Hizmet Movement, the name preferred by Gulen’s followers, has in the past thrown its support behind the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, led by Erdogan, but the two have been publicly at odds over the last month. “It was a forced marriage and now it’s an ugly divorce,” said Ahmet Sik, a journalist who wrote a book on Gulen and his influence within the judiciary and the police force. (VIDEO)
MORE
December 17, 2013 -- Updated 1951 GMT (0351 HKT)
Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- The sons of at least three government ministers, the head of a public bank, several bureaucrats and high-profile businessmen were detained by Turkish police Tuesday as part of a sweeping corruption probe, state-run media reported.
Analysts called the move a signal of the growing rift within Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party ahead of local elections in the spring. The detentions came after a two-year probe by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office into allegations of corruption including money laundering, gold smuggling and bribery, according to the semi-official Anadolu news agency.
*SNIP*
The sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar were detained in the raids, according to local media. The head of a large construction company, Ali Agaoglu, was also brought in within the scope of the investigation, though the CEO of the company later told Dogan News Agency that Agaoglu was not the focus of the investigation.
Local commentators and analysts see the raids as the most public confirmation of the developing rift between Erdogan’s ruling party and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic cleric living in Pennsylvania {my emphasis} whose loose network of followers are thought to hold key positions within the judiciary and police force.
The Hizmet Movement, the name preferred by Gulen’s followers, has in the past thrown its support behind the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, led by Erdogan, but the two have been publicly at odds over the last month. “It was a forced marriage and now it’s an ugly divorce,” said Ahmet Sik, a journalist who wrote a book on Gulen and his influence within the judiciary and the police force. (VIDEO)
MORE
- Erdogan says it's an ''international conspiracy.'' Launched by someone living in Pennsylvania. You know?, that sounds crazy enough to be true.......
