Turkish diplomats spied on Erdoğan critics in Nepal, triggered criminal investigation
The Turkish government used its diplomats to profile opponents of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Nepal and gather intelligence about them to help forge a criminal case against critics.
Judicial documents have confirmed that three Turkish
nationals had been profiled by Turkish diplomats and reported to the Foreign
Ministry in Ankara. The information was later used in a criminal indictment for
a charge of terrorism by a Turkish prosecutor.
According to a December 13, 2018 decision by prosecutor
Birol Tufan, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched a separate
investigation (file no. 2018/43629) into Turkish nationals who were listed in
espionage files dispatched by Turkish diplomats without any concrete evidence
of wrongdoing.
According to the documents they were charged with
“membership in a terrorist group” by Tufan.
Turkey does not have an embassy in Nepal but rather an
honorary consulate. The profiling documents might have been sent to Ankara
by Burak Akçapar or Şakir Özkan
Torunlar, the Turkish ambassadors in New Delhi between 2016 and 2021 since the
Turkish ambassador in New Delhi is accredited to Nepal.
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.
The judicial documents once more confirmed that spying
activities by Turkish diplomatic missions result in serious consequences in the
Turkish judicial system.
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.
According to judicial documents released by the Ankara 4th
High Criminal Court on January 16, 2019, the foreign ministry compiled a long
list of foreign entities that were owned and/or operated by people who were
seen as close to the movement.
Moreover, Nordic Monitor revealed how MIT infiltrated
refugee camps in Greece in order to spy on opponents who were forced to flee to
Greece to escape an unprecedented crackdown in neighboring Turkey.
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. “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.”
It is clear that Turkish diplomatic missions violate the
domestic laws of receiving states and the principles of international law by
conducting unlawful information-gathering campaigns and sweeping intelligence
operations. Erdoğan’s envoys enjoyed the privileges and immunities described in
the international conventions while they systematically spied on critics of the
president, collected information on Turks living abroad and transmitted it to
headquarters.
The immunities and privileges of diplomats and consular
staff are governed by international conventions. However, diplomats enjoying
the privileges and immunities described in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations are under a duty to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving
state and to avoid interfering in its internal affairs as detailed in Article
41. Similarly, consular staff are granted limited privileges and immunities by
the Vienna Convention on Consular Affairs, but the host state authorities can
start investigations and prosecute any of the personnel if they perpetrate
crimes inside or outside the consulate premises, according to Article 43 of the
convention.
Comments
Post a Comment