ISTANBUL, (Reuters) – A Turkish prosecutor accused police yesterday of obstructing his pursuit of a high-level graft case, adding to public scrutiny of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government as it hunkered down defiantly.
Three ministers had resigned after their sons were among dozens of people detained on Dec. 17 as part of the probe into corrupt procurement practices, which has exposed Turkey’s deep institutional divisions and left the pugnacious premier facing arguably the biggest crisis of his 11 years in power.
Erdogan responded by replacing half his cabinet with loyalists on Wednesday while investors took fright, and the lira currency fell further yesterday to an all-time low.
The new interior minister, Efkan Ala, will be in charge of Turkey’s domestic security and is considered especially close to Erdogan, who called the secretive investigation a foreign-orchestrated plot without legal merit and responded by sacking or reassigning some 70 of the police officers involved.
In allegations disseminated to Turkish media in writing, prosecutor Muammer Akkas said he had also been removed from the case, which he described as compromised by police who had refused to comply with his orders to arrest more suspects.
“By means of the police force, the judiciary was subjected to open pressure, and the execution of court orders was obstructed,” Akkas said.
