A secret Turkish government document from June of this year has revealed that Turkish diplomats have not ceased the unlawful practice of intelligence gathering on critics and opponents in Europe despite warnings from host countries that Turkey must halt its spying activities.

The document, dated June 7, 2022 and stamped secret, was issued by the Security General Directorate (Emniyet), which is part of the Interior Ministry. It mentioned that intelligence was passed to the Emniyet by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on June 2, 2022, which means the ministry compiled the names from reports sent to headquarters by Turkish embassies and consulates.

The document was signed by Erdoğan Kartal, deputy chief of the Emniyet’s counterterrorism department, and distributed to 74 Turkish provinces in a secret message for further police action against Turkish nationals profiled by diplomats abroad.

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Apparently concerned about a leak of the document and possible fallout from the scandalous activity in foreign soil, Kartal referred to the source of the intelligence as “the information note obtained from the affiliated (V) institution.” The roman numeral V is the code number for the Foreign Ministry Security and Research Directorate (otherwise known as the intelligence section, or Araştırma ve Güvenlik İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü in Turkish).

Read more: Nordic Monitor