ANKARA: Four Turkish ex-ministers who resigned over a 2013 graft scandal that shook President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government will not have to stand trial, a commission ruled Monday, in a decision the opposition called a “black day” for democracy.
The parliamentary commission’s decision appears to draw a line under the December 2013 scandal which presented Erdogan, then prime minister, with one of the biggest crises of his rule over Turkey.
Erdogan angrily claimed the scandal was the brainchild of his ally-turned-foe, the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose Hizmet (Service) group the authorities have since moved to destroy with dozens of arrests which also continued yesterday.
The commission — dominated by MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) — ruled against sending the cases to the Supreme Council court, its chairman Hakki Koylu said on national television.
Former interior minister Muammer Guler, ex-environment minister Erdogan Bayraktar, ex-economy minister Zafer Caglayan and ex-EU affairs minister Egemen Bagis faced accusations of bribery and influence-peddling.
The decision had been awaited on December 22 but was unexpectedly delayed for two weeks amid frenzied speculation over alleged government meddling.
“The vote was open. Everyone expressed their opinion, and cast his vote. Every allegation, every name was discussed. The vote was cast accordingly,” said Koylu, an AKP lawmaker.
AFP
