Turkish authorities took the lawyer into custody in mid-September, Germany’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday.
The man, from Turkey, had been assisting the embassy in Ankara by looking into the cases of Turkish citizens seeking asylum in Germany, according to news magazine Der Spiegel, which first broke the story.
A German diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse that the lawyer had provided “internationally customary and, in our view, indisputably acceptable support.”
“His detention is incomprehensible to us,” they added.
The diplomatic source said Germany was “intensively engaging to clear up the allegations and free him from custody.” The lawyer, who Der Spiegel says has been accused of espionage, cannot receive consular assistance from Germany because he is a Turkish citizen.
As part of his work for the embassy, the lawyer had sought information from local police and prosecutors about the likelihood of certain asylum-seekers facing imprisonment on their return to Turkey.
The German government now fears that “sensitive data and entire files of up to 50 asylum-seekers have reached the Turkish intelligence service,” the diplomatic source said.
Read the full article: https://www.dw.com/en/lawyer-for-german-embassy-in-ankara-arrested/a-51341528
