Erdo?an's intervention 'saved four former ministers from corruption trial'

The Justice and Development Party?s (AKP) members of a parliamentary panel tasked with probing graft claims against four ex-ministers originally intended to send them to the top court, but an intervention by President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an changed their minds, it has emerged.

During meetings with AKP executives ahead of the Dec. 22, 2014 panel vote on the matter, the nine panel members from the AKP signaled that they would vote to send the quartet to the Supreme Council, sources told Hürriyet. 

After the AKP leadership learned of such an intention, a critical two-and-a-half-hour meeting at the Prime Ministry was held on Dec. 21, hosted by Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu and including AKP deputy parliamentary group chairs Mustafa Elita? and Mahir Ünal, as well as the four former ministers under investigation. 

After Elita? explained that the commission members were likely to vote to send the former ministers to the Supreme Council, Davuto?lu recalled his earlier meetings with Erdo?an and told the former ministers that it would be better if they announced that they wanted to be sent to the Supreme Council voluntarily.

Former Economy Minister Zafer Ça?layan openly stated that they should not be sent to the top court and asked the prime minister to pledge his support to them. 

Fellow suspects Egemen Ba??? and Muammer Güler agreed with Ça?layan, but underlined that they would not oppose being sent to the court if a joint call was made. However, they also sought assurances on whether the government would support them if they were sent to the court.

One of the former ministers reportedly emphasized that if they were sent to the Supreme Council, further information about the AKP and some of its officials would surface and...