Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a very subdued 60th birthday celebration on Feb. 26. This must be due to an audio recording leaked two days ago, which suggested that he phoned his son Bilal several times on the day the graft probe hit the surface. The probe initially landed three cabinet ministers’ sons behind bars for involvement in corruption and bribery, followed by their fathers’ expulsion from ministerial positions. Erdogan allegedly asked his son to hide large sums of money at home before the police got to their door. 

Erdogan burst into anger on Feb. 25 at a weekly parliamentary group meeting, stating that the audio leak is nothing but “a shameless and treacherous montage.” He even went further, threatening to disgrace the opposition with the same technical ploy, although the opposition has proved that it played no role in the leaks that have been shaping domestic politics here for some time. Interestingly, after Erdogan’s remarks, some audio recordings spread online, with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), heard praising Erdogan. The question is whether this tactic of releasing such dubious recordings of Kilicdaroglu are enough to acquit Erdogan. 

While the prime minister has denied all allegations since the graft probe hit the surface, Fikri Isik, the minister of science, industry and technology, said Feb. 26, “I listened [to the audio recording]. It is clearly a montage, so there is no need for any technical inquiry on it.” There is, however, an urgent need to legally confront these allegations, as their content cannot be taken lightly.

If it is really a montage, it wouldn’t be the first time. Dani Rodrik, son-in-law of Cetin Dogan, a retired general who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for being the mastermind of the 2003 “sledgehammer” coup plan, has been writing and arguing to no avail how the evidence that put more than 200 military officers behind bars was forged.