×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Tuesday
29
Jul 2025
weather symbol
Athens 27°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

Turkey arrests four members of alleged French spy ring in Constantinople

This comes just days after France filed a formal complaint with NATO alleging that one of its warships was threatened by a Turkish Navy vessel

Newsroom June 25 10:20

Four men have been arrested by Turkish authorities in Constantinople, allegedly for being members of a spy ring operated by an agent who collected information on extremist groups for France’s external spy agency. The arrests were reported on Tuesday by a newspaper with close links to the Turkish government. It is worth noting, however, that the reports have not been confirmed by Turkish officials. If true, the incident points to further deterioration in the relations between the two nations, which are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The Turkish daily newspaper Sabah said on Tuesday that the leader of the French-handled spy ring is named Metin Özdemir. He is reportedly a Turkish citizen who worked in the security department of the French consulate in Constantinople. According to the paper, Özdemir admitted to Turkish police that he was sent to France where he took an eight-month-long surveillance and counter-surveillance training course. He was then sent to Georgia by France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE), where he gathered intelligence for his French handlers. In exchange for his services, the DGSE allegedly gave Özdemir regular cash payments and offered him a job in the French Foreign Legion.

Özdemir eventually returned to Turkey and was allegedly handled by two DGSE officials that he named as “Virginia” and “Sebastian”. He recruited three more Turkish citizens, including two utility workers, who formed a spy ring. The spy ring members were supplied by the DGSE with forged credentials, identifying them as employees of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT). According to Sabah, the spy ring supplied the DGSE with information on 120 individuals, most of whom were members of ultra-conservative religious organizations with alleged links to the Islamic State. The spy ring also allegedly spied on the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Turkey’s state-funded religious authority. Recently, however, Özdemir reportedly fell out with his French handlers and approached Turkish authorities, who promptly arrested him and the rest of the members of his spy ring.

See Also:

>Related articles

Mitsotakis “hardens the doctrine” domestically and abroad – Messages from Erdoğan to… Karamanlis

Dendias: If a conscript sailor is sent to a ship, only the… Archbishop doesn’t call

Mitsotakis takes a hardline stance on national issues — Slams ‘Twitter diplomacy’

Turkey slammed for airstrike that killed three women in Syria

The Sabah report comes just days after France filed a formal complaint with NATO, alleging that one of its warships was threatened in the open seas by a Turkish Navy vessel on June 10. According to French officials, the warship Courbet attempted to approach a Turkish Navy ship named Cirkin, which was believed to be smuggling weapons to Libya. The Turkish vessel refused to identify itself to the Courbet, which was inquiring on behalf of the NATO alliance. It also flashed its radar lights at the French ship, which is usually seen as a sign of impending confrontation, while its crew members were seen wearing bullet-proof vests and standing behind the ship’s mounted weapons. Turkey has denied the French allegations, but NATO said it will launch an investigation into the incident.

Source: Intel News

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#arrest#constantinople#diplomacy#embassy#espionage#France#intelligence#istanbul#MIT#NATO#navy#negotiations#politics#spy#turkey#world
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Trump denies his involvement in the Epstein case: ‘If they had something on me, they would have come out with it already’

July 28, 2025

Oedipus’ ‘standing ovation,’ five minutes of applause at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus

July 28, 2025

Jacob Elordi: First look revealed as Frankenstein’s monster

July 28, 2025

“Walk fast to catch the last trolley” – The story of trolleybuses in Greece, from 1948 to today,

July 28, 2025

François Bayrou: “Dark day” for Europe with the EU-US trade deal

July 28, 2025

Two worlds for Israeli tourists in Rhodes: Arrests and interrogations vs. warm welcomes with sweets

July 28, 2025

Chloe Kelly: The ‘lioness’ from street football who became a symbol and led England back to the top of Europe – See photos

July 28, 2025

New York Times: Europe retreated to save itself – Why it agreed with Trump on 15% tariffs

July 28, 2025
All News

> Greece

“Walk fast to catch the last trolley” – The story of trolleybuses in Greece, from 1948 to today,

“Walk faster to catch the last trolley,” one might say, as Athens’ iconic trolleybuses are phased out—ironic, given they once replaced trams, and now their own wires are being removed for wire-free electric buses

July 28, 2025

Two worlds for Israeli tourists in Rhodes: Arrests and interrogations vs. warm welcomes with sweets

July 28, 2025

“No one is looking for her,” mystery surrounds the identity of the little girl found dead in Paleo Faliro

July 28, 2025

Very high fire risk forecast for a number of regions on Tuesday

July 28, 2025

Anidrosis – What caused the 15-year-old’s heatstroke in Metsovo

July 28, 2025
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2025 Πρώτο Θέμα