Iran Embassy In Turkey ‘Wiretapped’: Court

Tehran, Aug 2, IRNA - An Istanbul court has ordered 11 more police officers formally arrested and jailed pending trial for allegedly illegally wiretapping Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials as well as Iran’s embassy in Ankara. The court did not reveal the details of wiretaps, wrote ˈIran Dailyˈ in its Upside/Downside column on Saturday. Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu said the officers were jailed early Wednesday, raising the number of officers formally detained for illegal wiretaps to 31. These policemen were among the dozens of others detained on July 22 in raids on their homes. The Turkish government says the officers are linked to a conservative movement led by a US-based cleric, which it accused of attempting to topple the government. It says the movement is behind a corruption probe against four former government ministers and a series of leaked recordings suggesting corruption by Erdogan and family members. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, has denied any involvement.