New prosecutors appointed to obstruct graft probe

Several Turkish newspapers reported on Friday that İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı's decision to appoint two new prosecutors to the investigation is not intended to facilitate the investigation, as Çolakkadı had previously claimed. In the beginning, İstanbul Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz was at the helm of the investigation. In the aftermath of the detentions of some 50 people, including businesspeople, bureaucrats and the sons of three ministers, however, two new prosecutors were appointed to the investigation on Dec. 18. The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said in a written statement that the new prosecutors were appointed to the investigation to assist the first prosecutor.

However, the Taraf and Bugün dailies claimed that this is not the case. According to the dailies, Çolakkadı issued an order concerning the prosecutors involved in the investigation stating that they should take decisions on the course of the investigation by majority vote. The dailies said the order indicates that the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office does not want Öz to remain in charge of the investigation, but instead the other two prosecutors will shape the course of the investigation.  

On Dec. 17, İstanbul and Ankara police staged dawn raids resulting in the detention of 50 people as part of a major investigation into claims of corruption and bribery. Among the detainees were bureaucrats, well-known businesspeople and the sons of three ministers. Allegations emerged that several ministers had also been implicated in bribery. The suspects are accused of rigging state tenders, accepting and facilitating bribes for major urbanization projects, obtaining construction permits for protected land areas in exchange for money, helping foreigners to obtain Turkish citizenship through falsified documents, involvement in export fraud, forgery of documents and gold smuggling. There are also claims that the suspects illegally sold historic artifacts unearthed during the construction of the Marmaray underwater rail project that connects Europe and Asia.  

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin met with Çolakkadı at the Haliç Congress Center in İstanbul. Their meeting came shortly after seven of the suspects were referred to a court by prosecutors for arrest. The details of the meeting were not immediately available to the press.