Swiss investigate alleged Turkish attempt to kidnap businessman


Date posted: March 15, 2018

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland is investigating whether Turkish diplomats planned to drug and kidnap a Swiss-Turkish businessman as part of a crackdown after the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger said that one of the two envoys linked to the plot to snatch the Swiss-based businessman – who was active in the Gulenist movement that Ankara blames for the coup bid – remained in office in Bern while a second had since returned to Turkey.

“The Office of the Attorney General can confirm that in this context a criminal case is being conducted on suspicion of political intelligence gathering … and prohibited acts for a foreign state,” the OAG said in an emailed statement. The investigation began in March 2017, it added.

The OAG said it had asked the foreign ministry to clarify whether the suspects enjoyed diplomatic immunity now or at the time of the alleged crime. Waiving any immunity was necessary to carry out further investigations, it added.

The Turkish embassy in Bern did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The OAG said a year ago that it had begun a criminal inquiry into possible foreign spying on Switzerland’s Turkish community. here

Swiss intelligence got wind of the 2016 kidnapping plot while it was being hatched, Tages-Anzeiger reported, adding that the intended victim remains under police protection.

The Turkish government blames U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for the failed military coup. Gulen has denied any role in it.

Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Mark Heinrich

 

Source: Reuters , March 14, 2018

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Germany Declines Turkish Request to Freeze Gulen Assets

Germany has rejected a formal request from Turkey to freeze assets of members of the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The German government officially rejected the request at the end of June, telling Ankara there were no legal grounds for Germany’s financial watchdog BaFin to crack down on the Gulen movement and its supporters.

A Genocide in the Making – Genocidal action stage by stage by the Turkish government against the Hizmet movement

Dr Ismail Sezgin, Director of Centre for Hizmet Studies is questioning if a genocide is in the making in Turkey, exploring the development of a genocidal action stage by stage by the Turkish government against the Hizmet movement.

Turkish people upset that democratic progress is being reversed: Islamic scholar Gülen

The Turkish people are upset that democratic progress has gone into reverse over the last two years, Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has said, speaking in his first interview since the graft probes that have damaged the government and widened the rift between his movement and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Deputy PM says image of gov’t-Hizmet fight ugly

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç on Monday said the image of a fight between his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and Hizmet movement is very ugly, adding that the government has never wanted to reach such a point. Speaking on a program on Habertürk TV, he said: “If there are problems, we can […]

Fethullah Gülen’s message of condemnation and condolences for victims of the terrorist attack in Gaziantep, Turkey:

I condemn, in the strongest terms, the barbaric terrorist attack on attendees of a wedding ceremony in Gaziantep, Turkey that took the lives of more than fifty citizens, including children, and wounded many others.

Sabotage: government-Gülen movement relations

We are facing a new situation that we are all trying to understand. First, the summoning of the undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), Hakan Fidan, and several other MİT administrators to testify as suspects has turned into an unprecedented and serious problem. Those waiting in the wings encouraged a debate that started as […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Opposition up in arms over Erdoğan’s badmouthing of Turkish schools abroad during visit to Ethiopia

Gülen movement offers real alternative to clashes and conflict in society

Paralyzed by ill-treatment in Sivas prison, Turkish police officer dies at 33

Gülen-linked journalist association warns that movement’s support for gov’t can end

Pak-Turk schools won’t close, says Education Minister

Gülen’s brother at risk of death in prison

Canadian institute honors Kimse Yok Mu

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News