Thirteen suspects charged with ‘political espionage’ for wiretapping of Turkish President Erdoğan

A top prosecutor’s office in the Turkish capital Ankara has finally completed an investigation into the illegal wiretapping of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, charging 13 suspects with “political espionage.”

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has drafted the indictment in the investigation, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Nov. 18

Back in February 2014, then-Prime Minister Erdoğan described the illegal wiretapping of his home and office as “espionage.”

“The illegal wiretapping of my house is espionage. The necessary steps regarding this have been made. A very confidential file has been sent to the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office, but even that has been disclosed to the press,” Erdoğan said at the time.

He made public on Dec. 21, 2012 that wiretapping devices had been found in his Prime Ministry office and home, causing much uproar.

According to news reports, an investigation launched into the case in February 2013 was transferred to a prosecutor’s office dealing with anti-terror cases, on the grounds that it involved an espionage crime.