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AK Party has no role in wiretapping controversy, says Erdoğan
Reports suggested that the telephones of a chief public prosecutor and some members of the Supreme Court of Appeals have been wiretapped for an extended period of time as part of an ongoing probe into a clandestine organization. The wiretap controversy emerged late on Wednesday after claims that the telephones of İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin have been wiretapped since 2008 as part of a probe into a criminal organization known as Ergenekon. Then came allegations that the telephones of some members of the Supreme Court of Appeals have also been wiretapped since 2008.
Answering reporters after participating in the fourth Disabled Council held at the Bilkent Hotel in Ankara, Erdoğan addressed allegations that the Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an inquiry into the AK Party over its alleged role in the wiretapping of some judicial members.
Erdoğan said he has not heard of such an inquiry into his party as he noted that it would be very ugly to place his party at the center of such a controversy.
“The state functions with all of its institutions. Steps [to wiretap some judicial members] are taken in line with the Constitution. There are now steps taken by the legislative body. None of these steps run contrary to the Constitution. If the judicial institutions do not recognize a court verdict, there is a mistake here. The judicial members have to obey the court rules first. It was recently revealed that my telephone was also wiretapped illegally. The investigation into this continues, and the perpetrators of this will be revealed. Some judicial members also admitted that ‘the prime minister’ was wiretapped. While all of these are obvious, it is very wrong to accuse my party of being involved in wiretapping cases. The steps taken by the government regarding this issue are not illegitimate,” explained Erdoğan.
In the meantime, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and Supreme Court of Appeals President Hasan Gerçeker briefed President Abdullah Gül yesterday about the wiretapping of top judicial members.
President Gül first invited Ergin to the Çankaya presidential palace for a meeting. Following the meeting, Ergin told reporters that he briefed the president about the latest developments without elaborating on the content of their discussions.
Following Ergin, Gül invited Gerçeker for a meeting, which lasted for 25 minutes. Speaking to reporters at the end of his meeting with Gül, Gerçeker said the regulation regarding the wiretapping of individuals should be amended to prevent the legal wiretapping of judicial members. He said he had conveyed his view about the need for a legislative change to Gül. When asked about the content of his meeting with Gül, Gerçeker replied: “The esteemed president wanted to be informed about the wiretapping controversy. As the head of the Supreme Court of Appeals, I told him my views on the subject.”
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