Turkey jails founder of opposition party over political and military espionage
DEVA politician Metin Gürcan was arrested late on Nov. 29 on charges of “political and military espionage.” For over a year now, Turkish authorities have been monitoring Gürcan and listening to his phone calls, Gerçek Gündem reported.
Duvar English
Turkish opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) founder and member Metin Gürcan was arrested on Nov. 29 on charges of “political and military espionage.”
Gürcan announced on Nov. 26 he was detained and that police were raiding his house in Istanbul. He was later taken to the Ankara Police Department's Counterrorism Unit where his interrogation started late on Nov. 28.
The police asked Gürcan about the content of his conversations with foreign journalists, diplomats and representatives of civil society organizations, the online news outlet Gerçek Gündem reported.
Gürcan also answered questions about the articles he penned and interviews he gave on various TV programs.
On Nov. 29, the politician was referred to a court which ruled for his arrest.
Gürcan, a retired member of the Turkish Armed Forces, helped establish DEVA with Ali Babacan, a former deputy prime minister and minister under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He is also a defence analyst.
'Gürcan was under gov't surveillance, had his phones tapped'
For over a year now, Turkish authorities have been monitoring Gürcan and listening to his phone calls, Gerçek Gündem said.
Following Gürcan's detention last week, DEVA chair Babacan had said that such moves undertaken with a "political motivation" cannot discourage his party.
In a televised interview on Nov. 29, Babacan said his party backed Gürcan and its lawyers would support him "until the end." The party was yet to find out about the details of the investigation, Babacan said.
"Gürcan's work is based on open sources. He does not have access to state secrets," Babacan said.
Gürcan had last week criticized President Recep Erdoğan's chief adviser Oktay Saral after the latter targeted opposition politicians over their criticism of the government.
Gürcan had also criticized the agreements signed with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this week, saying that the $10 billion funds promised by the UAE might force Turkey to give some concessions in the future.