Swiss open probe into Ankara's spying on Turkish communityMarch 25, 2017 - 17:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A criminal investigation has been opened into allegations that the Ankara government has spied on expatriate Turks. Several academic events in Switzerland were reportedly filmed and photographed by unspecified agents, Deutsche Welle reports. Swiss prosecutors said on Friday, March 24 they had "concrete suspicions [of espionage] against the Turkish community in Switzerland [by] a political intelligence service." The Office of the Attorney General confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation on March 16, after receiving a green light from the Swiss government. Prosecutors, however, refused to provide details on which specific people or organizations the investigation was targeting. The investigation follows reports that in January, two men took photos of the participants at a University of Zurich seminar discussing the 1915 Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turks, a term which the Ankara government vehemently rejects. Local media reported that other events at the University in late 2016 and early 2017 were filmed or photographed, including one where the editor in chief of the Turkish newspaper "Cumhuriyet" was honored. On Thursday, March 23, the Swiss foreign minister told his Turkish counterpart that his country would "rigorously investigate" any illegal spying by Ankara on expatriate Turks and urged Turkey to comply with Swiss law. Close to 70,000 Turkish citizens live in Switzerland, according to Swiss government statistics, while the Turkish embassy's website refers to 130,000 Turkish nationals. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |