Special law in Turkey

Turkish Parliament passed a controversial conservative Islamic power bill, on Thursday night, greatly extending the powers of the National Intelligence (MIT), reported the Turkish media.

The text was adopted after heated debates, due to the absolute majority that Prime Minister's Recep Tayyip Erdogan Justice and Development Party has (AKP), giving more rights in terms of gathering informationto the secret service and introducing prison punishments, especially for journalists who will disclose confidential documents on "military security".

The project was submitted last month, before the municipal elections, when the AKP has won, despite the corruption scandals and illegal wiretaps that affected the Erdogan government, who heads Turkey since 2002.

The new legislation, which was debated by MPs last week, enables MTI to listen to telephone lines and collect information on "terrorism, international crime and foreign intelligence."