Three cabinet ministers in Turkey resign in widening corruption scandal

Three Turkish cabinet ministers resigned on Wednesday in an intensifying corruption scandal that has challenged the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and divided the country. One of the departing ministers made a last dig at Mr. Erdogan, calling for resignation as well.

Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler, both of whose sons have been arrested in the anti-corruption investigation, stepped down. Their sons are among 24 people who have been arrested on bribery charges in a corruption investigation that has engulfed Mr. Erdogan and his close associates.

Hours later, Erdogan Bayraktar, the environment and urban planning minister, announced his resignation, in an interview with the private NTV television network. Mr. Bayraktar’s son was detained as part of the corruption probe but later released. “I believe the prime minister should also resign,” Mr. Bayraktar said.

Mr. Erdogan’s government has denounced the inquiry as a politically motivated plot by a “criminal gang” within the state. The prime minister’s allies have also characterized it as a foreign plot to undermine Turkey’s rise and damage the government ahead of elections in March.

Responding to the investigation, the government has dismissed more than a dozen high-ranking police officials as part of a purge of those it believes are behind the probe.

SOURCE: New York Times