Second employee of U.S. Consulate in Istanbul facing jail over terror links

A Turkish prosecutor has demanded a 15-year prison sentence for an employee of the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul over terror links, state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Friday, a month after the sentencing of a fellow consular employee on similar charges.

Nazmi Mete Cantürk,  a security officer at the consulate, is accused of membership in the Gülen movement, a religious group accused of orchestrating the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, Anadolu said.

Cantürk, who was released pending trial, was present at Friday’s hearing in an Istanbul court, along with his wife and daughter, also accused of the same charges, it said.

The prosecutors listed on Friday Cantürk’s alleged links to civil servants, including former police chiefs, implicated over links to Gülenists, in addition to wiring cash to defunct associations and foundations linked to the group as evidence in the case, Anadolu said.

The Turkish government accuses the Gülen network, led by U.S.-based scholar Fethullah Gülen, of infiltrating state institutions, including the military, and acting as a parallel state. Ankara maintains the group is a terrorist organisation and has led a worldwide crackdown against it since the failed putsch.

The prosecutor asked for the acquittal of Cantürk’s wife and daughter on charges of membership to the group, citing insufficient evidence.

Cantürk’s case follows that of fellow consulate staffer Metin Topuz, who in June was sentenced to 8 years and 9 months in prison for aiding the Gülen movement.

Topuz was arrested in October 2017 for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and the Turkish government, as well as accessing classified information for espionage purposes.

A translator and fixer for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul for decades, Topuz denied any links to the Gülen movement during his trial.