The Turkish judiciary, intelligence services, diplomatic missions abroad and law enforcement authorities have become abusive tools in the hands of the Islamist government of President Erdogan to prosecute critics, opponents and dissidents.
Legal documents have revealed that Turkish eimbassy in Turkmenistan has been engaged in a campaign of intelligence gathering and collected information on the activities of critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The information collected by the Turkish Embassy was used in criminal indictments on charges of terrorism by a Turkish prosecutor.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a separate investigation into four Turkish nationals who were listed in espionage files dispatched by Turkish diplomats in Turkmenistan without any concrete evidence of wrongdoing.
The criminal justice system has often been abused by Erdogan to persecute government critics, leading to the imprisonment of tens of thousands on false charges.
Critics of the Erdogan government abroad, especially members of the Gulen movement, have been facing surveillance, harassment, death threats and abduction since President Erdogan decided to scapegoat the group for his own legal troubles.
They have often been denied consular services such as power of attorney and birth registry as well as having their passports revoked. Their assets in Turkey are seized and their family members at home risk criminal charges.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed systematic spying on Turkish government critics on foreign soil as by Turkish diplomatic missions in February, 2020.
Çavuşoğlu said Turkish diplomats assigned to embassies and consulates have officially been instructed by the government to conduct such activities abroad.
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