First Indictments Completed in Turkey Graft Scandal
Turkish prosecutors have completed a first batch of indictments in a graft scandal that has rocked the 11-year rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, overcoming intense pressure from his conservative government, local media reported Friday.
Mustafa Demir, the mayor of Istanbul's Fatih district, a stronghold of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), is among 21 people in the indictment, the reports said, without naming the others.
They were among dozens of key allies of the prime minister, including the sons of three cabinet ministers, who were detained in police raids in December when the corruption scandal first erupted. The ministers have since resigned.
Prosecutor Ekrem Aydiner has completed the first tranche of allegations, which will now be sent to the courts for formal approval, the private Dogan news agency reported.
The indictments accuse the 21 of "bribery", "forgery" and "violating a law on the conservation of cultural and natural property", Dogan said.
The graft probe has become one of the biggest challenges facing Erdogan and his AKP, and comes ahead of pivotal municipal elections on March 30.
Violent protests against what rights groups claim are heavy-handed police tactics against demonstrators have also piled pressure on Erdogan's administration.
Riots erupted Wednesday that left at least two people dead as tens of thousands turned out to mourn the death of a teenage boy who was hurt during violent clashes with police last year.
Also Friday, parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek said the body would hold an emergency meeting next Wednesday on the corruption allegations at the request of the opposition at a time when campaigning for the municipal polls is in full swing.
Parliament is currently in recess in the run-up to the polls, the first since the corruption scandal erupted.
The scandal has widened to implicate Erdogan himself, after recordings were leaked in which the prime minister could allegedly be heard discussing hiding large sums of cash and conspiring to extort a bribe from a business associate.
Erdogan has retaliated by sacking hundreds of police and prosecutors believed to be linked to a former ally turned arch-rival, U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The prime minister says Gulen is using his influence over the police and the judiciary to destabilize the government.
Last month a Turkish court released the last suspects implicated in the probe ahead of expected trials, including the son of the former interior minister, Baris Guler, and the son of the ex-economy minister, Kaan Caglayan.
Demir was released in December after being detained briefly as part of the investigation.
Source: Agence France Presse
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