According to the Nordic Monitor news site, Turkey had been running a covert spy operation via its diplomatic offices in Athens and Thessaloniki in an effort to gather information about Turkish citizens who were allegedly linked to the Gulen movement, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the Erdogan government and are living in Greece.
As per Nordic Monitor:
A police liaison officer assigned to the Turkish embassy in Athens ran a covert operation to collect intelligence in Athens and Thessaloniki, a secret Turkish government document obtained by Nordic Monitor has revealed.
The document, sent by the Security General Directorate (Emniyet) on September 2, 2020 to nearly a dozen provincial police departments, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry had passed on intelligence gathered by a police officer who works at the Turkish embassy.
The communiqué, classified as secret, mentioned six business establishments in Athens and Thessaloniki and 13 residents who are allegedly linked to the Gülen movement, a group critical of the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The people who were spied on were owners and operators of various businesses including a restaurant, a market, a real estate brokerage and a rental a car agency. In some cases, spouses of the owners were also targeted.
The document noted that the intelligence was part of a broader clandestine operation launched by the Turkish government in Greece to identify targets from the Gülen group, confirming that multiple agencies were involved in spying in a foreign territory.
The spying activity shows that the Erdoğan government not only disregards the law in a NATO ally — a neighboring country — by engaging aggressive spying activities but also does not feel bound by Turkish laws that prohibit Turkish police from carrying out such work.
more at nordicmonitor.com
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