File photo.
Turkey’s main business group TUSIAD defended itself on Tuesday as working for the national interest after an investigation was launched into one of its executive’s criticism of a crackdown on dissenting figures.
A Turkish prosecutor’s office is looking into Omer Aras’ comments last week that judicial investigations into opposition leaders and journalists had shaken trust and damaged democracy.
TUSIAD’s members account for 85% of Turkey’s foreign trade and 80% of corporate tax revenue.
“We independently and impartially put issues that will contribute to the welfare and development of our country on our agenda,” TUSIAD said in a statement, without specifically mentioning the investigation.
Government officials said Aras’ comments aim to interfere with ongoing judicial processes.
Opposition politicians have faced a series of legal probes, detentions and arrests in what critics say is a government effort to muzzle dissent and hurt their electoral prospects.
President Tayyip Erdogan’s government dismisses accusations of political interference and says the judiciary is independent. [Reuters]