The German-Turkish relations are facing another serious stress test: According to SPIEGEL information, Turkish authorities have arrested the so-called confidence lawyer of the German Embassy in Ankara on suspicion of espionage.
The embassy had instructed the Turkish lawyer to obtain information in Turkey for asylum procedures of Turkish citizens in Germany. The lawyer asked about the police and the prosecutor, whether the people are going to trial in Turkey or threatened with imprisonment on their return to their homeland. The findings were then forwarded to the Federal Foreign Office (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge - Bamf), which decides on the asylum decisions.
Now, the federal government fears that the Turkish authorities and the Turkish secret service MIT have picked up on the arrest of lawyers data and files of about 50 Turkish citizens who have applied for asylum in Germany - including prominent Kurds and followers of the Gülen sect. Those seeking protection, according to the concern of the Federal Government, could be harassed or even threatened by Turkey. The state security has explicitly warned several stakeholders that the Turkish secret service has received detailed information by arresting the lawyer.
Federal Foreign Office condemns arrest as "incomprehensible"
In government circles, the case is classified as "extremely sensitive". On the one hand, one is faced with the accusation from Ankara to actively support Turkish regime opponents in asylum applications. On the other hand, it is feared that the lawyer could be sentenced by Turkey as a kind of escape assistant to a long prison sentence.
The lawyer was arrested in mid-September, and the German Embassy has been trying to secure his release ever since. Ambassador Martin Erdmann has repeatedly tried to explain to the Turkish authorities that the research is a routine process - so far unsuccessful.
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly criticized in the past that backers of the coup attempt were in Germany and demanded their extradition to Turkey.
The Foreign Ministry condemns the arrest of the lawyer as "incomprehensible." At the request of SPIEGEL it was said that the lawyer had researched completely legally and openly in Turkey information for the appropriate asylum procedures. That is why we are talking to Turkey.
