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Three investigations launched against journalist over graft probe columns

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CAN-DUNDARThree separate investigations have been launched against Cumhuriyet daily columnist Can Dündar, over several columns in which he covered the Dec. 17 and 25 graft probes that implicated various high-ranking state officials such as former prime minister and now-President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Two of the investigations were initiated after complaints filed by eight people, including President Erdoğan, his son Bilal Erdoğan and businessman Usame Kutub, on charges of violation of privacy, slander and insulting state officials in his columns published on Aug. 2 and 3. Kutub is also known as the representative of Yasin al-Qadi, a Saudi Arabian businessman who is on the US Treasury Department’s “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” list.

Dündar’s column published on Aug. 2 was titled “Bilal…Ay özür dilerim, arkadaş” (Ah Bilal, sorry friend), and the other column published on Aug. 3, 2013 was titled “Arkadaş’ın Babası 1” (Friend’s Father 1).

The third investigation was launched after Erdoğan and his son Bilal filed criminal complaints against Dündar over his column “Erdoğan’ın yumuşak karnı” (Erdoğan’s soft stomach), which was published on July 1, 2014, and another column “Fezlekeleri okumak hakkımız” (It is our right to read the summaries of proceedings). Dündar was referring to the summaries of proceedings prepared against four state ministers who were forced to leave their posts on Dec. 25, 2013 after they were implicated in the Dec. 17 corruption and bribery investigation.

Dündar testified to Public Prosecutor Emin Aydinç as part of the investigations on Wednesday. Dündar mentioned corruption and bribery allegations targeting Erdoğan, his son, pro-government businessmen and several state ministers in his columns.

Bilal was a key suspect in the Dec. 25 investigation due to bribery allegations regarding his involvement in the Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey (TÜRGEV) as well as several other corruption allegations. He was accused of accepting illegal donations at TÜRGEV. Prosecutors involved in the probe claimed that Bilal Erdoğan abused his father’s influence to help TÜRGEV purchase valuable land in several provinces at prices far below market value.

President Erdoğan himself was also implicated in the investigation after several voice recordings were successively leaked on the Internet after the investigation first became public on Dec. 17, 2013. The most outstanding of those recordings was the one that allegedly took place between Erdoğan and his son. In the recording that was leaked in February this year, Erdoğan allegedly told Bilal Erdoğan to “zero” the money stashed at the houses of several people.

SOURCE: MEDIA

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