Turkey seeks reduced charges against US consulate employee

Amberin Zaman

Mar 10, 2020

An armored Turkish police vehicle stands outside the courthouse in Istanbul on March 28, 2019, during the trial of Metin Topuz, an US consulate staffer accused of spying and attempting to overthrow the government. - Topuz, a Turkish citizen and liaison with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, was arrested in 2017 and has been accused of ties to US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara says ordered a failed 2016 coup. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty — An armored Turkish police vehicle stands outside the courthouse in Istanbul on March 28, 2019, during the trial of Metin Topuz, an US consulate staffer accused of spying and attempting to overthrow the government. — Getty Images

A Turkish prosecutor is seeking up to 15 years for a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Istanbul for his alleged links to Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based Sunni preacher who is accused of masterminding the failed 2016 coup.

Metin Topuz, a veteran translator for the US Drug Enforcement Agency, was arrested in October 2017 on charges of membership of the so-called Gulenist Terror Group or FETO, sparking a diplomatic row between the NATO allies and a temporary freeze on visa services for Turkish nationals at US missions in Turkey. Topuz and the US government deny all the accusations.

In today’s hearing, however, the prosecutor dropped separate espionage and coup-plotting charges against Topuz that carry a 35-year sentence, citing insufficient evidence. He denied the defense’s demands that Topuz be released pending trial.

Topuz is accused of “intense contact” with Turkish police officers who led a massive corruption probe in December 2013 against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his family and of his cabinet. He said that interacting with the police force was part of his routine duties.

Turkey seeks reduced charges against US consulate employee

A Turkish prosecutor is seeking 15 years for Istanbul US Consulate employee Metin Topuz for alleged links to an outlawed group, but has dropped separate espionage and coup-plotting charges.

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