Turkey tortures supporters of Fethullah Gulen in secret prisons, according to Germany's ZDF TV broadcaster. Europe should toughen up and follow Donald Trump's example in dealing with Ankara, says Erkan Arikan.
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After the failed coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016, the country's MIT intelligence service became very active in its search for "enemies of the country" even beyond Turkey's borders. Accusations that the Turkish government runs secret prisons where supporters of the Gulen movement are tortured are not new, these rumors have surfaced again and again over the past two years.
Western reluctance
Turkish media regularly describe arrests abroad of Gulen supporters as successful accomplishments, while the government virtually flaunts its secret service's activities. Researching the practices of the Turkish secret service and following leads is any independent journalist's job. We can rest assured that Western secret services have long had this very information.
But what happens with this information? What do the western countries that clearly know about these practices do? The answer is obvious: Nothing!
NATO member Turkey supposedly runs torture prisons, abducts alleged "traitors" all over the world and the MIT increasingly acts abroad. However, instead of taking a clear stand and openly addressing these issues, the German government continues its "steady hand diplomacy."
Why are German and Turkish relations so strained?
German-Turkish relations have deteriorated since the failed coup against Turkish President Erdogan in 2016 and the crackdown that followed. DW looks at some of the key moments that soured ties between Berlin and Ankara.
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The Böhmermann affair
March 31, 2016: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan filed charges against German comedian and satirist Jan Böhmermann over his "defamatory poem" about the Turkish leader. German prosecutors eventually dropped the charges on October 4, 2016, but the case sparked a diplomatic row between Berlin and Ankara.
German lawmakers pass resolution to recognize 1915 Armenian Genocide
June 2, 2016: The resolution passed almost unanimously. In response, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Berlin and Germany's Turkish community held protests in several German cities. Turkey had repeatedly criticized the use of the term genocide to describe the Ottoman-era Armenian killings, arguing that the number of deaths had been inflated, and that Turkish Muslims also perished in the violence.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Gallup
Tensions following failed coup in Turkey
July 15, 2016: A faction of the Turkish military tried to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but ultimately failed. Ankara accused Berlin of not taking a clear stand against the coup attempt or not doing anything about exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen's organization, who Erdogan blames for orchestrating the failed coup.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Germany criticizes post-coup purge
Immediately following the attempted coup, Turkish authorities purged the army and judiciary, detaining thousands of people. The purge expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers. German politicians criticize the detentions. Turkish diplomats, academics and military members fled the country and applied for asylum in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
Kurdish rallies in Cologne
Erdogan's post-coup crackdown has also been condemned by Kurdish protesters at several mass demonstrations in the west German city of Cologne. Often the rallies have called for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey considers to be a terror group. Ankara has accused Berlin of not doing enough to stop PKK activities.
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Arrest of German citizens in Turkey
February 14, 2017: Deniz Yücel, a correspondent for the "Welt" newspaper, was taken into custody in Turkey. Other German nationals, including journalist Mesale Tolu and human rights activist Peter Steudtner were detained in Turkey for what Berlin dubbed "political reasons." Turkey accused them of supporting terrorist organizations. All three have since been released pending trial.
March 2017: A number of German localities blocked Turkish ministers from holding rallies in their districts ahead of an April referendum in Turkey to enhance President Erdogan's powers. The Turkish leader then accused Germany of using "Nazi tactics" against Turkish citizens in Germany and visiting Turkish lawmakers. German leaders were not amused by the jibe, saying Erdogan had gone too far.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Spying allegations
March 30, 2017: Germany accused Turkey of spying on hundreds of suspected Gulen supporters as well as over 200 associations and schools linked to the Gulen movement in Germany. Turkish asylum-seekers have since accused officials working in Germany's immigration authority (BAMF) of passing on their information to media outlets with ties to the Turkish government.
Image: Imago/Chromeorange/M. Schroeder
Erdogan urges German-Turks not to vote for 'enemies of Turkey'
August 18, 2017: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed three of Germany's main political parties as "enemies of Turkey" and told Turks living in Germany not to vote for them in September's general election. He singled out Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the Social Democrats (SPD), and the Greens. Merkel said Erdogan was "meddling" in Germany's election.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/AA/M. Ali Ozcan
Merkel says Turkey should not become EU member
September 4, 2017: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during an election debate that she didn't think Turkey should become a member of the European Union and said she would speak with other EU leaders about ending Ankara's accession talks. In October, she backed a move to cut Turkey's pre-accession EU funds.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Turkey's military offensive in Afrin
January 20, 2018: The Turkish military and their Syrian rebel allies launched "Operation Olive Branch" against the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin in northern Syria. The move was criticized by German politicians and prompted large protests by Kurdish communities in Germany.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose
Journalist Deniz Yücel released from prison
February 16, 2018: Turkey ordered the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yücel after he'd been held for over a year without charge. According to Turkish state media, Yücel was released on bail from pre-trial detention. Prosecutors asked for an 18-year jail sentence for Yücel on charges of "terror propaganda" and incitement.
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Özil quits
July 2018: German footballer Mesut Özil quit the national team following the fallout from his meeting with the Turkish president. Özil said he was being made a scapegoat for Germany's forgettable performance at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow because of his Turkish heritage. Erdogan praised Özil's decision and slammed the "racist" mistreatment of the footballer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Presidential Press Service
Travel ban lifted
August 2018: A Turkish court removed the travel ban on German journalist Mesale Tolu, who was arrested last year on terrorism-related charges. But the trial against Tolu, who has since returned to Germany, is set to continue. Her husband, Suat Corlu, who is facing similar charges, has been ordered to remain in Turkey.
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The truth is painful
A Turkish proverb says, even if a friend says painful things, he will always be speaking the truth. Bearing that in mind, Turkey's foreign partners should all tell President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the painful truth. But they confine themselves to the threat that EU accession negotiations could be stopped, which Ankara these days sees a bad joke. Such remarks always play into the hands of Erdogan and his supporters, along the lines of "that club of Christians doesn't want us, anyway!"
Turkey sees so-called "traitors to the fatherland" as the country's worst enemies. The Turkish president has made it his life's work to hunt down and fight against the people responsible for the failed coup in 2016. The Gulen movement and its members top that list. It's what Erdogan uses to stop any further discussion, an approach that is more than accepted in Turkey. Obviously, democratic foreign states have a different point of view.
In his abrasive style, US President Donald Trump showed how to handle Turkey. Washington reacted immediately when it became clear the chances of pastor Andrew Brunson's release from a Turkish prison were waning. Trump speaks a language that Erdogan, too, understands, and that meant pressure on Turkey's AKP-led government, sanctions against Turkey and increased tariffs on goods imported from Turkey. The economic consequences of the US move are still noticeable in Turkey months later.
Turkey must show its colors at last — display transparency to its partners in the West, shut down the secret prisons and grant all prisoners, including the Gulen supporters, constitutional treatment. Otherwise, there can be no trusting relationship with the West — not now and not in the future.
What is the Andrew Brunson row all about?
A Turkish court has ruled to release US pastor Andrew Brunson, whose detention has strained diplomatic ties between the US and Turkey. Who is Brunson, and why did the Turkish government put him behind bars?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/E. Tazegul
Alleged connection to failed military coup
US pastor Andrew Brunson was first arrested in October 2016, when Turkey was in the immediate throes of a crackdown on suspected instigators of the failed July coup attempt. He is accused of supporting exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen as well as Kurdish militants. Ankara claims Gulen masterminded the coup bid.
Image: picture-alliance/Zaman/AA/B. Ozkan
Espionage charges
Brunson was charged of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and espionage. The 50-year-old pastor spent two years in jail, facing a prison sentence of up to 35 years if convicted on both counts.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Suna
'No credible evidence'
In July, 2018, Brunson was allowed to leave prison and remain under house arrest, but his request to leave Turkey was denied by authorities. Washington has maintained that there is no credible evidence to support the charges brought against him. "Release Pastor Andrew Brunson now or be prepared to face the consequences," US Vice President Mike Pence warned Turkey.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/E. Tazegul
'No one dictates to Turkey'
US President Donald Trump threatened to slap "large sanctions" on Turkey if it refused to free the Christian pastor. Trump took to Twitter to demand that the pastor be freed, writing: "This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!" In a tit-for-tat tweet, Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu responded by saying that, "No one dictates [to] Turkey."
Image: Reuters/K. Lemarque
US sanctions
In early August the White House announced it was imposing sanctions on two top members of the Turkish government – Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul (above right) and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu – for their roles in Brunson's detention. President Erdogan has said that he will not be swayed by sanctions.
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'Constructive' dialogue
But signs of a diplomatic thaw began to appear after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkey's Cavusoglu met in Singapore on the sidelines of a regional summit on August 3. "They [Pompeo and Cavusoglu] spoke about a number of issues and had a constructive conversation," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/F. Aktas
Found guilty, but set free
Eventually, a court in Turkey's Aliaga found Brunson guilty on terror charges and sentenced him to over three years in prison. At the same time, however, the court said he would not serve the term due to the time he had already spent behind bars. The preacher was allowed to leave the country.
Image: Reuters/Depo Photos
Shaky US-Turkey ties
The Brunson row is the latest in a series of diplomatic and military disputes between the two NATO allies. The US uses bases in Turkey for its military operations across the Middle East, but the two countries have sparred over numerous issues, including Washington's support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, whom Ankara sees as a threat to its political stability.
