Documents published by Nordic Monitor disclosed that the Turkish government used its diplomats in Italy to profile opponents of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and gather intelligence about them to help forge a criminal case against critics.
The leaked documents confirmed that four Turkish nationals had been profiled by Turkish diplomats and reported to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara.
The obtained information was later used in a criminal indictment for a charge of terrorism by a Turkish prosecutor without any concrete evidence of wrongdoing.
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.
Most recently educator Orhan Inandi, who was included in documents previously published by Nordic Monitor, was kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan on May 31 and illegally brought to Turkey.
İnandı, who had lived in Kyrgyzstan for nearly 30 years, was arrested July 12 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.
A confidential 105-page Turkish government report obtained by Nordic Monitor confirms it was Turkish intelligence agency MIT that abducted and illegally transported the dual Turkish-Kyrgyz national who went missing in Bishkek.
As previously disclosed by Nordic Monitor, the foreign ministry sent lists of profiled Turkish nationals in two CDs to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the national police and Turkey’s intelligence agency MIT on February 19, 2018 via an official document for further administrative or legal action, the punishment of their relatives back in Turkey and the seizure of their assets.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed systematic spying on Turkish government critics on foreign soil as by Turkish diplomatic missions in February, 2020.
Cavusoglu said Turkish diplomats assigned to embassies and consulates have officially been instructed by the government to conduct such activities abroad.
No comments:
Post a Comment