A Turkish court has imposed a blackout on media coverage of an investigation into corruption allegations against four former ministers of the Islamic-rooted government, the television watchdog said on Wednesday. Turkey's parliament set up a commission of enquiry in May to investigate the allegations against the former interior, environment, economy and EU ministers who were implicated in a vast corruption scandal that broke late last year.
The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) has delivered Tuesday's ruling to Turkish newspapers, televisions and websites, which were banned from reporting on the parliamentary enquiry and could face penalties if they violate the ban. The ban was necessary because some media reports "violated the confidentiality of the investigation and the principle of presumption of innocence," RTUK said in a statement on its website. The ban, which will "enable the healthy conduct of the investigation," will remain in place until December 27.
Former interior minister Muammer Guler, environment minister Erdogan Bayraktar and economy minister Zafer Caglayan stepped down in December last year after police rounded up their sons on charges of bribery for construction projects and illicit money transfers to neighbouring Iran. The EU affairs minister Egemen Bagis was also implicated and removed from the cabinet by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister. Caglayan was personally linked to the scandal after being accused of taking bribes, including a $300,000 (210,000 euro) watch, to facilitate the smuggling of gold to Iran in breach of international sanctions. He was fined 250,000 Turkish liras ($110,000 or 90,000 euros) for his luxurious Patek Philippe watch for "violating the customs and import regulations," state-run Anatolia news agency reported on Monday. Erdogan has repeatedly accused followers of US-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen in the police and judiciary of being behind the graft probe, that posed the biggest challenge to his decade-plus rule.
He has managed to stall the investigation by sacking thousands of police and scores of judges. Turkish prosecutors the case against 53 people, including the sons of Guler and Caglayan. The media ban raised eyebrows coming just a day before Bayraktar is set to appear for the first time before the parliamentary commission, which will decide whether the former ministers will be prosecuted.
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