German federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into a Turkish Consulate employee and a police officer of Turkish descent on suspicion of spying for Turkey, Turkish Minute reported, citing the German Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper.
The investigation includes a search carried out Wednesday at the residence of a staff member of Turkey’s consulate general in Cologne, though not on consular premises. A second suspect, reportedly a police officer based in Cologne, is accused of leaking information from police databases to the consulate regarding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The PKK is designated by Turkey and its Western allies as a terrorist organization. The group has recently ended its decades-long war against Turkey as part of peace talks conducted with its jailed leader and destroyed its weapons at a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday.
Both women remain free as the investigation continues. Prosecutors have declined to provide further details while the inquiry is ongoing.
It remains unclear how the data was transferred or whether any payment was involved. If the allegations are confirmed, it could escalate into a significant diplomatic incident.
German authorities have long accused Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) of conducting surveillance on dissidents living in Germany. Followers of groups such the faith-based Gülen movement, who oppose Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government, have reportedly been targeted.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Since 2016, Turkey has arrested tens of thousands of people suspected to have links to the movement.
In order to avoid the government-led crackdown, thousands of Gülen followers have fled Turkey and taken refuge in European and other countries.
For years Turkey has repeatedly urged the German authorities to take action against Gülen supporters who sought asylum in the country.
In 2022 a Turkish national, Ali D., who was arrested in Germany in 2021 on suspicion of spying on dissidents for MİT, admitted in court to spying on followers of the Gülen movement and members of the PKK.
Turkish intelligence activities are also believed to include efforts to monitor and influence diaspora communities through religious and cultural organizations. One of the most prominent pro-government networks is the Union of International Democrats (UID), founded in 2004 and based in Cologne. The group has close ties to Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Germany has the largest Turkish diaspora in Europe, with almost 3 million people in the country who are Turkish or of Turkish descent.
