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The Grand Turk
Turkish Court Sentences US Consulate Employee to Prison Term Over Spying, Ties to Gulen
2020-06-12
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
The case was one of the key issues souring the already deteriorating relations between The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
 and the US, along with Washington's reluctance to extradite Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost...
, a major Ottoman Turkish opposition figure, which Ankara accuses of staging a military coup attempt.

A Ottoman Turkish court has sentenced US Consulate employee Metin Topuz to 8 years and 9 months in prison on charges of espionage and aiding a terrorist group. The US reacted to the news calling the court's decision disappointing.

Topuz, who was working as a liaison officer for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is accused of contacting law enforcement officials linked to Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic scholar, major opposition figure, and a founder of the FETO movement. The Ottoman Turkish government believes Gulen and FETO were the criminal masterminds behind the botched 2016 military coup that sought to overthrow President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
The US Consulate staffer denies all the charges levelled against him. Topuz insists that all of his contacts with Ottoman Turkish law enforcement officers were part of his job as the DEA liaison officer.

The arrest of the American Consulate employee in 2017 sparked a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the US, who called the accusations against Topuz unsubstantiated. His arrest became one of the key issues spoiling the two states' bilateral relations along with Washington's refusal to hand over Gulen to the Ottoman Turkish judiciary system.
Related:
Metin Topuz: 2019-12-12 Turkey Court Keeps US Consul Staffer in Jail
Metin Topuz: 2019-09-19 Turkish court rules to keep U.S. consulate worker in jail lawyer
Metin Topuz: 2019-06-29 US consular staffer to stay in Turkey detention on spy charges
Link


The Grand Turk
Turkey Court Keeps US Consul Staffer in Jail
2019-12-12
Just a gentle reminder that they’re holding one of our people in durance vile, INFIDEL!!
[AnNahar] A Ottoman Turkish court rejected a request Wednesday to release a US consular staffer tossed in the slammer
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
 since 2017 on espionage charges as he told the judge no credible evidence had been submitted against him.

The case of Metin Topuz, a Ottoman Turkish citizen and liaison for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, has added to growing tensions between Ankara and Washington.

Topuz has been in jail since his arrest in October 2017, accused of ties to US-based Moslem preacher Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost...
, who Ankara says ordered an attempted coup the year before.

His next court appearance was set for March 10.

"The charges are based on unrealistic allegations and contradictory testimonies of so-called witnesses," Topuz told the Istanbul court.

"Not one single piece of evidence has been presented to the court that would convince a rational person that I tried to destroy the Ottoman Turkish republic," he added, referring to claims made by the prosecution.

The trial has been delayed as prosecutors try to locate a witness who Topuz's lawyers say has fled to Italia and has no bearing on the case.

Since the failed 2016 coup, tens of thousands of people have been arrested over suspected ties to Gulen and more than 100,000 people have been sacked or suspended from public sector jobs. Gulen rejects the coup accusations.

Washington's refusal to extradite Gulen, combined with differences over the Syrian conflict and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
's decision to buy a Russian missile defence system, have put unprecedented strain on relations between the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
 allies.
Related:
Metin Topuz: 2019-09-19 Turkish court rules to keep U.S. consulate worker in jail lawyer
Metin Topuz: 2019-06-29 US consular staffer to stay in Turkey detention on spy charges
Metin Topuz: 2019-03-27 Espionage trial begins against Turkish employee of US Consulate
Link


The Grand Turk
Turkish court rules to keep U.S. consulate worker in jail lawyer
2019-09-19
[AlAhram] A Ottoman Turkish court ruled on Wednesday to keep a U.S. consulate employee in jail as his trial on espionage charges continues, a lawyer said, meaning he will remain in detention until the next hearing in December.

Metin Topuz, a Ottoman Turkish translator and fixer for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, has been in jug for 23 months. The next hearing in the case was set for Dec. 11, said his lawyer, Halit Akalp.

Topuz is charged with espionage and links to the network of holy man Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost...
, who is based in the United States and blamed by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
 for plotting the failed 2016 coup. Washington says Topuz is innocent.

The court has repeatedly said it wants to hear another witness in the case file. But lawyers on Wednesday told the court that the address on record for that witness did not exist.

In his final defence ahead of the ruling, Topuz said he did not accept the accusations and demanded his acquittal.

Lawyers for Topuz applied in January to the Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an Court of Human Rights and the court accepted the application, a person close to the matter told Rooters on Tuesday.

The trial of Topuz has been one of various sources of strain in already fragile ties between NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
 allies Turkey and the United States.
Link


The Grand Turk
US consular staffer to stay in Turkey detention on spy charges
2019-06-29
[IsraelTimes] Ottoman Turkish citizen who translated for American drug enforcement agency accused of links to alleged criminal mastermind of failed 2016 coup attempt.

A Ottoman Turkish court rejected an appeal on Friday to free a US consular staffer on bail during an espionage trial that has deepened tensions between Washington and Ankara.

Prosecutors argued that Metin Topuz, a Ottoman Turkish citizen and liaison for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), was a flight risk and must remain in jug in Istanbul.

His next hearing was set for September 18.

Topuz was arrested in 2017 and accused of contacts with police. A prosecutor also suspected of ties to US-based Moslem preacher Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost...
, who Ankara says ordered an attempted coup in 2016.

"All my contacts with those in high-ranking positions of the state at the time were entirely part of my work as a translator and assistant liaison officer at the DEA. I am innocent," Topuz said during his last court appearance in May.

The US embassy says there is no credible evidence against him.

Topuz faces a separate investigation on charges of seeking to "overthrow the constitutional order."
Link


The Grand Turk
Espionage trial begins against Turkish employee of US Consulate
2019-03-27
[Rudaw] A Ottoman Turkish employee of the US Consulate in Istanbul appeared in court Tuesday charged with espionage and attempting to overthrow the Ottoman Turkish government in a case that further frayed ties between the two NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
 allies.

The trial against Metin Topuz, a translator and assistant for the Drug Enforcement Agency at the consulate, opened in Istanbul nearly a year and a half after his arrest in October 2017. He has been held in pre-trial detention since then.
Link


The Grand Turk
Turkey Charges U.S. Consulate Employee with Espionage
2019-02-02
[AnNahar] A Ottoman Turkish court on Friday accepted an indictment charging a local employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul with espionage and attempting to overthrow the government, state media reported.

Metin Topuz, who liaised with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for the American mission, is accused of having links to U.S.-based Moslem preacher Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
Ankara alleges that Gulen ordered a failed coup in 2016, but he denies the claims.

The Istanbul court, which accepted the prosecutor's indictment issued last month, ordered Topuz to remain in jail, state news agency Anadolu said.

He has been in jug since September 2017.
...and appeared in our archives almost as long.
Topuz's trial will begin on March 26 and the first hearing will last three days. He faces life in jail if found guilty.

The consulate employee is suspected of having contacts with former coppers
...the American ambassador at the time explained that was part of Mr. Topuz’s duties...
and a prosecutor on the run accused of links with the Gulen movement, Anadolu reported.

The agency added that the indictment claimed Topuz had "very intense contacts" with former police chiefs involved in a 2013 probe into corruption allegations that affected government officials at the time.

Ankara has dismissed that investigation as an attempted "judicial coup" against the government by the Gulen movement.

Topuz had been at the center of a visa row between Ankara and Washington in late 2017 after his arrest.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
-U.S. relations have been strained in recent years over multiple issues including the U.S. refusing to extradite Gulen.

There was also a bitter row last summer over the detention of an American pastor, but tensions eased after his release in October.

The court's decision comes a day after a judge in the southeastern city of Mardin convicted a former local employee of the U.S. consulate in Adana, southern Turkey. Hamza Ulucay was found guilty of helping outlawed Kurdish bad boys, and sentenced to four years and six months in jail.

But the Mardin court ruled he be released because of the time he had already served in jail since March 2017.
Link


The Grand Turk
Life sentence sought for Turkish employee of US Consulate charged with espionage
2019-01-21
[IsraelTimes] Ankara accuses Metin Topuz, tossed in the calaboose
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
 since 2017, of helping coppers organize an attempted coup in 2013.

Ottoman Turkish prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a local employee of the United States consulate in Istanbul accused of attempting to overthrow the government and espionage.

A 78-page indictment against Ottoman Turkish national Metin Topuz, tossed in the calaboose
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
 since October 2017, said Topuz was in "very intense contact" with coppers who led a 2013 anti-corruption investigation that implicated top government officials.

The Ottoman Turkish government accused US-based holy man Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
 for attempting a coup with that investigation and labeled his network a terror group. Gulen is also blamed for a 2016 failed coup but he denies the accusations.

A judge will decide whether the case will proceed to trial.

Topuz’s arrest led to tension in US-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
 relations and to the suspension of bilateral visa services for more than two months.

The crisis triggered by the arrest saw accusations the US embassy in Ankara, which said at the time that the charges against Topuz were "wholly without merit."

US authorities then sought assurances from top Ottoman Turkish officials that no further staff members would be placed under investigation.

But Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
 had said it was Turkey’s right to take steps against "an internal threat."

The US suspended considering visa applications saying it wanted to reassess Turkey’s commitment to the safety of US personnel. Turkey retaliated by halting visas services in the US.

Ties between the two NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
 allies were already strained over Gulen’s presence in the United States and Washington’s support for Syrian Kurdish militia, whom Turkey considers to be Lions of Islam because of their links to Kurdish Lions of Islam fighting Turkey. Separate indictments in the US against Erdogan’s bodyguards who were embroiled in violence and against the banker and a former Ottoman Turkish economy minister accused of conspiring to violate US sanctions had deepened the rift.

State-run Anadolu Agency said in 2017 that Topuz had allegedly communicated with former police chiefs in a 2013 corruption probe ‐ which the government claims was instigated by Gulen’s supporters ‐ and with other officers allegedly involved in the attempted coup. Gulen denies involvement in the coup attempt.

The US ambassador at the time said it was part of Topuz’s duty to be in contact with coppers.
Link


The Grand Turk
US missions in Turkey set to resume full visa services
2017-12-29
[IsraelTimes] Ankara's embassy in Washington announces it will reciprocate move, following end to US suspension triggered by arrest of staff member

US consular missions in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
 are set to resume full visa services following a suspension triggered by the arrest of a staff member, the American embassy in Ankara said Thursday, leading Turkey to announce it will also resume full services.

Turkey had "adhered to high level assurances" made to the United States and, as a result, the US State Department "is confident that the security posture has improved sufficiently to allow for the full resumption of visa services in Turkey," the embassy said in a statement.

It did not give a date for when this would take effect.

Shortly after the US announcement, Ankara’s embassy in Washington announced that Ottoman Turkish missions in the United States will also resume full visa services for US citizens matching the American move.

"Within the framework of the principle of reciprocity, the restrictions placed from our side on the visa regime for US citizens are being lifted simultaneously," it said in a statement.

The US decision to stop handing out visas was implemented from October and was followed by the tit-for-tat move by Turkey to stop giving Ottoman Turkish visas to Americans.

The US in November said it has resumed limited visa services, a move matched by Turkey’s missions in the US.

But the services were so limited that the first interview appointments for Turks seeking most types of US visa were only available from January 2019, causing uproar on social media.

The crisis was triggered when US consulate staffer Metin Topuz was formally charged with espionage and seeking to overthrow the Ottoman Turkish government last month, accusations the US embassy in Ankara said at the time were "wholly without merit."

US authorities then sought assurances from top Ottoman Turkish officials that no further staff members would be placed under investigation.

The US said it had won assurances from Ankara that there are "no additional local employees of our mission in Turkey under investigation."

But the Ottoman Turkish embassy statement took issue with this, saying that "Turkey is a state of law" and "no such assurances have been given regarding cases pending in the courts."

"We do not find it right to misinform the Ottoman Turkish and American publics by saying that assurances have been given," it said.

Ottoman Turkish authorities will also inform the US "in advance" if they intend to arrest any local staff member in the future.

The US statement added: "We continue to have serious concerns about the existing allegations against tossed in the calaboose
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
 local employees of our mission in Turkey."

In March, a Ottoman Turkish employee at the US consulate in the southern city of Adana was also arrested on charges of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Link


The Grand Turk
Turkey releases relatives of US consulate worker: Anadolu
2017-10-19
[AlAhram] Ottoman Turkish authorities released the wife and daughter of a U.S. consulate worker, after the pair were detained amid a diplomatic row between the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
 allies, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Monday.

Authorities summoned the worker last week for questioning over his relatives' alleged links to last year's failed coup attempt, days after the arrest of another consulate employee triggered a mutual suspension of visa services.

Anadolu said the wife and daughter were barred from leaving the country and had to report to the nearest cop shoppe once a week as part of the terms of their release.

Their relative, identified only as N.M.C., has still not himself reported for questioning, Anadolu said, having been summoned after the wife and daughter were detained in the Black Sea city of Amasya.

Ottoman Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused U.S. officials of sheltering him in their consulate in Istanbul.

The man's wife and daughter were detained over alleged links to the network of U.S.-based holy man Fethullah Gulen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
, Anadolu said, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the abortive putsch.

Last Sunday, the U.S. mission in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
 and the Ottoman Turkish mission in Washington cut back visa services after another U.S. consulate employee, Metin Topuz, was placed in durance vile
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
. Washington said charges linking him to Gulen were baseless.

The prosecutor's office had said earlier that testimony from Topuz pointed to the wife and daughter being high-ranking members of Gulen's network. Gulen has denied any role in the failed coup.
Link


The Grand Turk
Arrested US consulate worker in Turkey meets lawyer
2017-10-14
That's one of our two people, but even so it is just a formality on the way to what the Turks intend to be a preordained conclusion.
[Ynet] A US consulate worker detained by Ottoman Turkish authorities last week saw his lawyer on Friday.

"We had the necessary meeting with my client," lawyer Halit Akalp told Ottoman Turkish television channels as he left a jail complex at Silivri, west of Istanbul. "There were no restrictions on our meeting."

Metin Topuz was enjugged
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
 over alleged links to the network of US-based holy man Fethullah Gulen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
, accused by Ankara of orchestrating last year's coup attempt. His arrest sparked a dispute between the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
 allies and suspension of visa services.
Link


The Grand Turk
Turkey issues detention warrant for 2nd US consulate worker
2017-10-10
[RT] Ankara has issued a detention warrant for a second US consulate worker, according to media reports. It comes after Turkey’s justice minister urged the US to reverse its decision to suspend visas for Turkish citizens. Turkish authorities announced, without giving a reason, that a second employee of the US consulate in Istanbul had been “invited” to the city’s chief prosecutor’s office to testify, AP reported.

Reports say the employee is a Turkish citizen, and the prosecutor’s office said his wife and child have also been detained for questioning.

It follows the arrest of Metin Topuz, a Turkish citizen who worked at the US general consulate in Istanbul. He is alleged to have ties to exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for a failed coup attempt last summer.

US envoy to Turkey says duration of visa services suspension depends on talks
...especially given the above. Perhaps Sultan Erdogan I, "the much beloved", thinks he is about to do to President Trump what the Mad Mullahs did to his predecessor.
[Ynet] The US ambassador to Turkey said on Monday the duration of a suspension in visa services in Turkey would depend on talks between the two governments regarding the detention of Turkish staff at the US embassy.

In a written statement, Ambassador John Bass said the length of the suspension would also depend on "the Turkish government's commitment to protecting our facilities and personnel here in Turkey", noting it was not a visa ban on Turkish citizens.

He said the embassy had been unable to learn the reasons for the arrest of a Turkish staff member last week and or what evidence exists against the employee.
Update from Ynet at 9:00 a.m. ET:
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday his country doesn't need Washington's permission to prosecute its citizens, the latest swipe in an escalating feud with the United States over the arrest of a US consulate employee.

In a speech to his ruling party's legislators in Parliament, Yildirim also slammed Washington for the arrest of a Turkish banker for his alleged role in helping Iran escape US sanctions, and for its failure to extradite US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey says was behind last year's failed coup.
Link


The Grand Turk
U.S. slams arrest of Istanbul consulate staff
2017-10-06
[NEWS.XINHUANET] The United States Embassy in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
 on Thursday slammed the arrest by Ottoman Turkish authorities of Istanbul consulate staff, saying that Washington "is deeply disturbed by the arrest."

The employee, identified only by Metin Topuz, was remanded in jug by an Istanbul court late Wednesday on accusations of links to the group of U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
, blamed by Ankara for last year's failed coup attempt.

"The United States government is deeply disturbed by the arrest of a locally-employed staff member of the U.S. Consulate General Istanbul on October 4, " the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

The employee with Ottoman Turkish nationality was charged with "political and military espionage" and "attempting to remove the constitutional order," according to Anadolu Agency.

Link



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