Turkish police reject claims of indiscriminate wire-tapping
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Turkey's police department has rejected claims that appeared in the newspapers on Sunday, alleging it has been involved in extensive tapping activities since both the general and presidential elections held in June, in a written statement. CHP leader Deniz Baykal claimed a report prepared by police in 1999 listed the head of the unit responsible for all tapping activities in Turkey, as a supporter of the pro-Islamic Fethullah group. (UPDATED)
The police department said on Sunday it was a legal obligation to take distinct judicial decisions to tap particular individuals, adding, therefore it was untrue that the department was carrying out was indiscriminate tapping in Turkey.      Â
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) filed on Friday a criminal complaint petition to Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's office about those the party believe are responsible for tapping the office of the CHP's General Secretary Onder Sav and for handing a transcript of the converstation to Islamist newspaper, Vakit, who is included in the complaint for publishing the conversation word-for-word.      Â
CHP is accusing Vakit newspaper's owner along with two of its writers for illegally publishing excerpts of CHP's SG Sav's conversation with former Governor Ali Serendag, in his office, in its edition on May 26.  Â
However, Turkey's Islamist Vakit daily revealed phone records, provided by Turkey's fixed line operator Turk Telekom, which showed their journalists listened to the conversation between Sav and the governor from Sav's cell phone that he left open by mistake, while the CHP denied the report.
Turkish police organs, like other democratic countries around the world, conduct all manner of legal operations aimed at uncovering and combating crimes within the boundaries of its authorization as defined by the constitution and the law, the statement issued by the police department said.
The police department organs must apply to the court to issue preemptive warrant for activities it carries out in the fight against terrorist and organized crime groups and the requests, which are approved by the courts, and forwards the warrants to the Telecommunication Communications Administration unit and carried out by them.
CHP leader Deniz Baykal claimed a report prepared by police in 1999 listed the head of the unit responsible for all tapping activities in Turkey, as a supporter of the pro-Islamic Fethullah group.
More details on the report mentioned by Baykal can be found in today's column by Fatih Cekirge.
According to another report by the ANKA News Agency, Ramazan Akyurek, head of the Intelligence Unit, requested wire-taps from the Telecommunication Communications Administration every three months since April 25, 2007.
The recordings, which included wire an electronic taps on mobile telephones, landlines and Internet communications, were requested as part of investigations to uncover terrorist activities and ensure security during Turkey’s general and presidential elections held in 2007.