Turkish Parliament Did Not Attract Ex-ministers to Court for Bribery

The Turkish parliament in the night session on Wednesday refused to transfer the case of four former ministers suspended from office after a corruption scandal to the court.

In mid-December 2013 Turkish police conducted a resonant operation, arresting dozens of people - businessmen, senior officials and their relatives - on suspicion of fraud and bribery. Four ministers accused of corruption resigned. In September last year, Attorney General's office in Istanbul decided that for the prosecution of 96 defendants, including the President's son Bilal Erdogan, there is no reason. In October the criminal proceedings against another 53 suspects were stopped.

The Turkish Parliament has considered the report of the parliamentary commission against former Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis, Minister of Economy Zafer Caglayan and Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Erdogan Bayraktar. Majority vote by secret ballot supported the commission’s decision against the transfer of the cases to the Supreme Judicial Council, which is convened to consider allegations against current and former ministers.

The leaders of all the opposition parties in the Turkish parliament voted for the transfer of the cases to court. However, the majority of deputies - members of the ruling party Justice and Development opposed that. -02D-