Turkey detains 6 people suspected of spying for China

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21 February 2024

Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained six people suspected of spying on behalf of Chinese intelligence in a rare public move against China.

One leader of a Uyghur umbrella group characterized it as a result of rising Chinese espionage activities against members of the oppressed Muslim community who are taking exile in Turkey.

While six have been detained, Turkish authorities are still searching for one more individual, the state-run Anadolu News Agency reported.

The suspects were rounded up in simultaneous raids in Istanbul for allegedly “collecting information” about prominent members of the Uyghur diaspora and their institutions based in Turkey with the intention of passing it on to Chinese intelligence units, according to the report. Authorities did not confirm the nationalities of the detained.

Turkey is home to one of the world’s largest populations of Uyghurs, a Muslim minority of Turkic origin who live primarily in China’s Xinjiang region.

Ties between Ankara and Beijing took a positive turn after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection in May last year. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, as well as Erdogan during a July visit to Turkey aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between their two countries.

Yet, China’s treatment of its Uyghur population, estimated at around 12 million, has long been a contentious issue in Ankara-Beijing ties.

The Turkey-based Uyghur activist Abduresid Eminhaci said Tuesday’s arrests come amid an “intense uptick” in Chinese espionage activities against Uyghur targets in Turkey.