Espionage accusations: a pressure tactic for Turkish government critics
This week's arrest of an employee of a German foundation in Istanbul has put focus back on the Erdogan administration's pressure tactics. The arrest is far from the first of its kind.
Yonca Verdioglu Sik, a German-born project coordinator at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, was arrested in Istanbul on suspicion of political and military espionage. However, the interrogation transcripts revealed that she was never questioned about espionage, but rather about the activities of the German organization she worked for.
Verdioglu Sik, who has been with the foundation for 18 years, was accused of money transfers to her bank account from the foundation. She was later released but faced a travel ban. Her arrest sparked outrage among critics of the Turkish government, who believed it was a tactic to pressure her husband, investigative journalist Ahmet Sik, who is a member of parliament and a vocal critic of the current government.
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