Information on Turkish citizens living in Albania was collated and sent to Ankara to be used in court cases, according to documents published by the Nordic Monitor, a group of journalists and ex-security specialists.
Documents published on the site show information on persons including teachers, representatives of local associations, business owners, journalists, and their family members who were living in Albania. The information has been redacted to protect their identity.
It’s alleged, this information was gathered by the Turkish Embassy in Tirana and then used in a number of criminal indictment charges for terrorism by Turkish prosecutor Ademi Akinci.
The platform was started by Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt who was chief of Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman. He fled Turkey after the failed 2016 coup d’etat. It is ‘wanted’ in Turkey as the authorities claim he is a member of the Gulenist movement which the country has designated as a terrorist group.
In December 2019, the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation (file no. 2018/43629) into 61 individuals who were listed in the files collated by Turkish diplomats in Tirana. They were then charged as being members of a terrorist group. Only Turkey, Pakistan, and the Gulf Cooperation Council consider the Gulen Movement as a terrorist organization.
In 2020, the Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu told journalists that gathering intelligence is the duty of diplomats.
“… Espionage activities. Everyone is doing what they want [in other countries]. Intelligence gathering is the duty of diplomats…intelligence gathering and information collection is a fact. The important point here is that they carry out their activities in accordance with the Vienna Convention, and transparently.”
