U.S. Consulate employee arrested in İstanbul

A U.S. consulate employee in İstanbul was arrested on charges of "espionage", attempts to "destroy the constitutional order", "seeking to overthrow the Turkish government"
Thursday, 05 October 2017 18:36

Turkish authorities ate Wednesday have arrested a U.S. Consulate employee in İstanbul over his alleged links to a network led by U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. The U.S. embassy in Ankara said it was deeply disturbed by the arrest of the locally employed staff member.

The network of Gülen was one of the masterminds of the July 2016 failed coup attempt.

Metin Topuz, a Turkish citizen, was arrested on charges of "espionage", attempts to "destroy the constitutional order", "seeking to overthrow the Turkish government".

"The arrested U.S. consulate worker was found to have had frequent communication with the FETÖ suspect Adil Öksüz," presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın told reporters. The network of Gülen, Turkish AKP government's former ally, referred to as the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization or FETÖ by Ankara after the coup attempt.

Öksüz, accused of being a member of the FETÖ, is believed to have played a key part in the failed coup. Turkish authorities say he helped orchestrate the bombing of Turkish parliament by rogue air force pilots. He was detained near an Ankara air base hours after the failed coup attempt. Öksüz was, however, released two days later and has disappeared after that.

The Embassy of the United States in Turkey is deeply concerned over the arrest of its consulate's locally-employed staff member and considers the allegations against the latter "baseless," a statement of the embassy said on Thursday.

"For decades, the tireless work of local employees of both countries to promote cooperation between Turkey and the United States has improved security for both of our countries, enhanced business opportunities, and brought our citizens closer together. Baseless, anonymous allegations against our employees undermine and devalue this longstanding partnership," the statement of the embassy said, adding that the US government was "deeply disturbed" by the arrest.

In March, an indictment released by a Turkish prosecutor claiming that a phone call was made to Adil Öksüz from a telephone number registered under U.S. Consulate General in İstanbul a few days after the coup attempt. Ankara had voiced anger after it emerged. But the U.S. embassy in Turkey said its İstanbul consulate contacted Öksüz only to inform him that his American visa had been revoked.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said that the U.S. statement was not enough.