Turkey - Another 14 police chiefs removed in Ankara amid graft probe.

Turkey - Another 14 police chiefs removed in Ankara amid graft probe.(TZ).

Authorities removed another 14 police chiefs at National Police Department in capital Ankara and replaced them with new ones amid corruption probe that has rocked Turkey since Tuesday.

The removal of police chiefs in Ankara comes a day after senior police officials, including İstanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın, were removed from their posts amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bribery linked to public tenders. Jurists said their removal amounted to an attempted cover-up and a “blatant intervention” into the judicial investigation.

The detention of 52 people, including bureaucrats, well-known businessmen and the sons of three ministers, on Tuesday came as a bombshell in the Turkish media. Barış Güler, the son of Interior Minister Muammer Güler, Salih Kaan Çağlayan, the son of Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Abdullah Oğuz Bayraktar, the son of Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar, and Fatih Mayor Mustafa Demir were all detained in the investigation. Following these detentions, the government began to dismiss all police chiefs involved with the corruption probe

14:04 - Turkish deputy PM says graft probe aimed at affecting local, presidential pollsTurkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has described the corruption probe as an "operation" against his government and that it was aimed at affecting local and presidential elections scheduled for the next year.
“This investigation's main aim is not corruption but it is our [Justice and Development] party. These so called people behind this operation is trying to affect the upcoming local and presidential polls," Bozdağ said.
Bozdağ went on saying that previous attempts to overthrow the AK Party government failed before and they will fail again.“We did not come into power with newspaper headlines or illegal connections with power groups. We will overcome this threat with the support from our citizens,” Bozdağ noted.

13:10 - CHP submits parliamentary question over graft issue Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Oktay Ekşi submitted a parliamentary question along with a request for a written statement from the prime minister on the corruption probe that has dominated the country's agenda for the last four days.Ekşi asked the reason why the four ministers suspected of involvement in corruption still had not submitted their resignations to Parliament. 
The parliamentary question also asked why the probe is deemed a threat to the government, referring to remarks made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a speech delivered in Konya on Tuesday.
Construction magnate Ali Ağaoğlu, who is accused of bribing officials, was released pending trial on Friday morning.
11:50 - Opposition leader says informing Erdoğan of graft probe in advance a ‘crime' Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said informing the prime minister in advance about the corruption operation would have been a "crime."

“Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan complained about not being informed about the graft probe in advance. Informing Erdoğan in advance would have been a crime,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, calling Erdoğan "the leader of the gang." Kılıçdaroğlu was referring to the prime minister's description of those who carried out the anti-graft operation as an "illegal gang within the state."

Kılıçdaroğlu noted that Erdoğan and his party are trying to cover up the corruption case."They dismissed police chiefs right after the raid had started. His ministers' sons are being investigated, yet those ministers are still in place. It is the prime minister's job to do what is necessary. If not, you are also part of this ring," Kılıçdaroğlu said.

Friday marks the fourth day on the highly publicized corruption case which involves politicians, mayors and businesspeople.

11:20 - Evidence files in graft probe brought to court Evidence filed within the scope of the major graft probe which resulted in the detention of many well-known people has been brought to an İstanbul court after 50 suspects were referred there early on Friday.Approximately an hour after 50 detained suspects in the graft operation were referred to court, eight files of the probe were brought to İstanbul's Çağlayan Courthouse from the İstanbul Police Department.

10:30 -Fifty corruption probe suspects referred to courtFifty detained suspects in the graft investigation conducted by İstanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office have been referred to an İstanbul court, media reported early on Friday.A group of 27 suspects, including Fatih Mayor Mustafa Demir, left the police department's anti-organized crime branch at 6:45 a.m. after procedures at the department were completed. Following medical checks at Haseki Teaching and Research Hospital, the 27 suspects were referred to an İstanbul court in the Çağlayan district.Another group of 23 suspects, including construction mogul Ali Ağaoğlu, were reportedly sent to court in two separate buses at 7:45 a.m.

Kütahya independent deputy İdris Bal, who recently resigned from the ruling AK Party due to friction over a plan to close prep schools, said the government is taking measures to prevent other graft probes.His statement came after the government dismissed dozens of police chiefs amid an ongoing investigation into alleged bribery linked with public tenders and gold smuggling as 52 suspects, including well-known businesspeople, sons of three ministers and advisors to several ministers, were detained by İstanbul police as part of the probe.Hmmm.....The 'Tip of the Iceberg'.......Guess those Iranian 'sanctions that benefit' are worthwhile to investigate as well.

Related: Turkey's Yeni Akit newspaper front page: "The traces point to Israel" in govt bribery and corruption scandal:  Of course for Erdo this can be only another 'Zionist plot'