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Opposition claims Erdogan may be media owner

Leaked investigation documents suggest Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have an ownership interest in media companies.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media in Ankara December 25, 2013. Erdogan said he replaced ten cabinet ministers, half of his total roster, after three ministers resigned over a high-level graft inquiry on Wednesday. The replaced ministers included EU Minister Egemen Bagis, who was allegedly named in the corruption probe but had not resigned yet, and key positions such as the Economy and justice ministers. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX16TYO

A massive corruption probe has been rattling Turkey since Dec. 17 when prosecutors moved to make the first arrests. By now, the government has dismissed all the prosecutors who initiated the probe, along with all police officers who did the investigating. Hundreds of other prosecutors and judges and thousands of police have lost their original posts in a nationwide reshuffle. Laws and regulations have been amended. A media blackout has been imposed on the probe. The justice minister has sent back prosecution reports incriminating ministers, instead of passing them to parliament for further action. In short, the probe has been blocked.

Yet, documents from the investigation files continue to leak out. Wiretaps end up in the media on a daily basis. Opposition leaders have laid hands on the prosecution reports the justice minister returned, trumpeting their content from parliamentary rostrums.

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