Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday denounced a corruption crackdown on his allies months ahead of elections as a “dirty operation” to smear his administration and undermine the country’s progress.
He said those behind the investigation were trying to form a “state within a state”, an apparent reference to the movement of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose followers are influential in Turkey’s police and judiciary.
A total of 52 people, including three ministers’ sons, prominent businessmen close to Erdogan and local government officials, were detained on Tuesday in the country’s biggest corruption probe since Erdogan swept to power in 2002.
“As we fight to make Turkey in the top 10 countries of the world … some are engaged in an effort to halt our fast growth. There are those abroad … and there are extensions of them within our country,” Erdogan told a news conference, Reuters informs.
