GERMANY: Govt launches second probe into suspected Turkish spying

Germany launched a second investigation on Tuesday into suspected spying by Turkey, one element of a growing rift between the powerful NATO allies. “We have launched an investigation against an unnamed entity on suspicion of espionage,” a spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (GBA) said. He declined to comment on German media reports that the […]

Germany launched a second investigation on Tuesday into suspected spying by Turkey, one element of a growing rift between the powerful NATO allies.
“We have launched an investigation against an unnamed entity on suspicion of espionage,” a spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (GBA) said.
He declined to comment on German media reports that the entity was the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) and that it suspected of spying on supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of organizing a failed coup last July.
A GBA spokeswoman said the investigation was separate from an investigation launched earlier this year into possible spying by clerics sent to Germany by the Turkish government.
She said: “This is a new investigation that was begun today. Both cases involve suspected espionage involving Turkey, but at this moment there is no common substance to the two probes.”