Turkey arrests more police officers in new raids

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's state television said police have launched a second of wave of raids at the homes of police officers, detaining at least 25 officers suspected of conducting illegal wiretaps, according to the Associated Press.

TRT television said police teams stormed police lodgings in Istanbul and 13 other cities early on Tuesday, Aug 5, taking 25 colleagues into custody. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that police have arrest warrants for 33 people.

Last month, police detained more than a hundred officers in similar raids for allegedly wiretapping Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials. Most of them were later released from custody but 31 were jailed pending trial over accusations of illegal wiretaps and forgery.

Critics say the detained policemen were involved in a corruption probe against the government and maintain that the arrests are politically motivated.