• About
  • Contact
  • News Tips
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Nordic Monitor
No Result
View All Result

Judicial documents reveal Turkish Embassy spied on Erdoğan critics in Venezuela

by Levent Kenez
September 16, 2021
Judicial documents reveal Turkish Embassy spied on Erdoğan critics in Venezuela

Levent Kenez/Stockholm

 

Documents obtained by Nordic Monitor show that the Turkish Embassy in Venezuela profiled Turkish citizens who are opponents of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and sent their private information to Ankara. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs then shared the information with judicial authorities, resulting in trumped-up terrorism investigations into these people without any concrete evidence.

According to a December 12, 2018 decision by prosecutor Birol Tufan, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a separate investigation (file no. 2018/27473) into nine Turkish nationals who were on a list dispatched by Turkish diplomats.

 

Judicial documents expose how the Turkish Embassy in Venezuela triggered criminal investigations in Turkey. (The names and addresses of the Turkish nationals have been redacted for security reasons.):  

Venezuela kopyası (1)

 

The profiling list were conveyed to the foreign ministry by Şule Öztunç, the Turkish ambassador in Caracas between 2013 and 2018.  

Despite the US government’s economic sanctions on Venezuela for human rights abuses and undermining democracy, economic and political ties between Ankara and Caracas have grown stronger. In recent years the two countries have exchanged high-level visits and signed several bilateral agreements.  

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ambassador Şule Öztunç (R).

 

Critics of the Erdoğan government abroad, especially members of the Hizmet/Gülen movement, have been facing surveillance, harassment, death threats and abduction since President Erdoğan 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 İnandı, who was included in documents previously published by Nordic Monitor, was kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan on May 31 and illegally brought to Turkey by Turkish intelligence agency MIT. İnandı, who had lived in Kyrgyzstan for nearly 30 years, was arrested July 12 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.

Turkish embassies are spying on Turkish citizens who have registered for consular services . Nordic Monitor published a Turkish foreign ministry communiqué, stamped secret, showing that the Turkish Embassy in Kosovo profiled 78 people who had listed their professions as teachers when they made applications with the consulate for various citizen services. Similar work has apparently been done in other Turkish diplomatic missions at the request of the Security General Directorate (Emniyet), the main law enforcement agency in Turkey.

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. Public prosecutor Adem Akıncı, who received the foreign ministry document on February 23, 2018, forwarded the classified CDs including information on 4,386 Erdoğan critics to the Organized Crimes Unit of the Ankara Police Department for further action. The police conveyed the results of its investigations to the public prosecutor.

 

Secret Turkish Foreign Ministry document confirming that Turkish embassies and consulates run a spy network around the world, profiling critics abroad:

mfa1

 

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed systematic spying on Turkish government critics on foreign soil 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. “If you look at the definition of a diplomat, it is clear. … Intelligence gathering is the duty of diplomats,” Çavuşoğlu told Turkish journalists on February 16, 2020 following the Munich Security Conference, adding, “Intelligence gathering and information collection are a fact.”

Previous Post

Turkish gov’t understates number of Afghans in Turkey as public opinion turns sharply against refugees  

Next Post

Turkish President Erdoğan uses sex tapes to advance his politics, get rid of opponents

Levent Kenez

Levent Kenez

[email protected]

Next Post
Turkish President Erdoğan uses sex tapes to advance his politics, get rid of opponents

Turkish President Erdoğan uses sex tapes to advance his politics, get rid of opponents

Donate

Nordic Monitor

Nordic Monitor is a news web site and tracking site that is run by the Stockholm-based Nordic Research and Monitoring Network. It covers religious, ideological and ethnic extremist movements and radical groups, with a special focus on Turkey.

Tags

al-Qaeda Andrei Karlov Andrei Karlov China coup Cyprus Diyanet Egypt espionage Germany Greece Gülen Movement Hakan Fidan Hulusi Akar IHH Iran IRGC Quds Force ISIL ISIS Isis al-qaida Israel Libya Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu MIT Muslim Brotherhood NATO President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Profiling Qatar Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Russia SADAT Saudi Arabia spying Spying Activities Suleyman Soylu Sweden Syria The United States Torture Turkey Turkish Intelligence Agency Ukraine United States Yasin al-Qadi

Recent News

Turkish parliament report fails to refer to ISIS, al-Qaeda as terrorist organizations

Turkish parliament report fails to refer to ISIS, al-Qaeda as terrorist organizations

March 24, 2023
A cop in Turkey who provided intel to far-left terrorist organization DHKP/C is back on the job

A cop in Turkey who provided intel to far-left terrorist organization DHKP/C is back on the job

March 23, 2023
Pope’s would-be assassin in Turkey sponsored by a secret donor in Europe

Pope’s would-be assassin in Turkey sponsored by a secret donor in Europe

March 22, 2023

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Extremism
  • Military
  • Terrorism and Crime
  • Intelligence
  • Foreign Policy
  • Contact Us
    • Give us a tip!
  • About Us

Copyright © Nordic Research and Monitoring Network All rights reserved.