Turkey: 20 police arrested for illegal wiretaps

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s state-run news agency says an Istanbul court has charged 20 police officers with illegal wiretapping and ordered their arrest pending a trial.

The Anadolu Agency says 49 other officers are still waiting on Saturday to be questioned and face possible charges.

The officers were detained on July 22 in raids to their homes on suspicion of wiretapping officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The government says the officers are associated with a moderate Islamic movement led by a U.S.-based cleric, which it accuses of attempting to topple the government. It says the movement is behind a corruption probe against four former government ministers and a series of leaked recordings suggesting corruption by Erdogan and family members.

The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, has denied any involvement in the corruption allegations.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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