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Turkey demands life imprisonment for US Consulate employee
Kurdistan 24 (K24) ^ | 2 hours ago | Rawa Barwari

Posted on 01/20/2019 1:44:53 PM PST by Texas Fossil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish prosecutors demand aggravated life imprisonment for a local US Consulate employee, Metin Topuz, who they charge with espionage for a foreign nation, membership in a terrorist organization, and participation in conspiracies to overthrow the government of Turkey.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Binali Yildirim, former ministers Ali Babacan, Muammer Guler, and Zafer Caglayan – the last two themselves targets of a high-level corruption investigation in 2013 – and former Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag are among 30 officials who claimed victimhood and are plaintiffs in an indictment released this weekend against Topuz.

The Turkish national who worked for the Drug Enforcement Agency in the US Consulate in Istanbul is accused of being a member of the movement of Turkish-Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based, self-exiled opponent of President Erdogan.

Separately from life imprisonment, prosecutors also asked for another 18 to 29 years for Topuz in jail over alleged crimes of “possessing private data and violating secrecy,” related to his work at the American consulate.

According to the indictment released this week after nearly 15 months of detention, Topuz “played a central role” as a liaison between the US consulate and Turkish police and judiciary officials who launched the 2013 corruption investigation against four ministers, their sons, and members of the then Prime Minister Erdogan’s inner circle.

The scandal caused a cabinet reshuffle as the government quickly suppressed the investigation, dismissed police officers and prosecutors who it said were rogue state employees with allegiance to Gulen, and sparked a now ongoing vendetta between Erdogan and Gulenists that has so far seen the unprecedented purge of some 150,000 people within the Turkish state structure.

Shortly after Topuz’ 2017 arrest in Istanbul, the US and Turkey mutually suspended non-immigrant visa services at their respective diplomatic missions for over two months.

(Excerpt) Read more at kurdistan24.net ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Egypt; Foreign Affairs; Israel; News/Current Events; Russia; Syria; US: Pennsylvania; US: South Carolina; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alibabacan; armenia; azerbaijan; bekirbozdag; binaliyildirim; consulate; cyprus; dea; djibouti; egypt; employee; erdogan; eritrea; europeanunion; fethullahgulen; gaza; greece; hamas; hassannasrallah; hezbollah; iran; isis; israel; jerusalem; jordan; kurdistan; lebanon; letshavejerusalem; lifesentence; lindseygraham; metintopuz; muammerguler; nato; pennsylvania; rawabarwari; receptayyiperdogan; russia; sinai; southcarolina; sudan; syria; turkey; waronterror; yemen; zafercaglayan
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To: BobL

Paranoia comes on like a raging fever, and is very nearly as destructive as a runaway freight train. Erdogan is a tyrant, no less, and should be considered to be one much as Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, with probably about the same degree of legitimacy. The parallels are striking, and there is no doubt a number of backdoor contacts between the two regimes.

Both agree solidly on one thing - Orange Man BAD. If either Erdogan or Maduro were in the US, they would make excellent liberal Democrats.


21 posted on 01/20/2019 3:57:36 PM PST by alloysteel (Man does not live by bread alone. He needs chocolate cake too.)
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To: Texas Fossil
It would be nice if the Egyptians would give us the denouement to that particular dark chapter of our own political history, if ya see what I mean. Of if anyone would, for that matter.

22 posted on 01/20/2019 4:08:05 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and the synonym for Neocon is Conservative, you Paleolib drones)
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To: SunkenCiv

I’ve asked that question of some who probably know. They told me that although much of it is open, the full truth will never be revealed by them. They honestly want good relations with the US.

We had private conversations when it was happening. And ocassionally I got snippets of things that they knew that I found no where else. I would just smile and say thank you.

The Russians at times do the same thing. The relation with Russia will never be like that with Egypt, but it can be constructive.


23 posted on 01/20/2019 4:24:41 PM PST by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: Texas Fossil
Putin and his organized crime empire will have to be destroyed, but since it's mostly due to his existence, that won't be much longer.

24 posted on 01/20/2019 4:50:42 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and the synonym for Neocon is Conservative, you Paleolib drones)
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To: Texas Fossil

Why was Bolton trying to reason with those people? He’ll talk to them but false flag Syria.


25 posted on 01/20/2019 5:32:50 PM PST by Socon-Econ (adical Islam,)
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To: Texas Fossil

Say, what do you think the attitude of Kurds to US is now?
Up in the air? Anti? Still good?

Very off-the-wall... do they have anything to say about China?


26 posted on 01/20/2019 7:47:17 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat/RINO Party!)
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To: Socon-Econ

I don’t see how Bolton false flags Syria.

He has been pretty direct.

We wait.


27 posted on 01/21/2019 2:58:27 PM PST by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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