Turkey runs informer network in Austria to target critics: MP

byJokpeme Joseph Omode -
0
Austrian lawmaker from the Austrian Greens Peter Pilz (File photo).
A senior Austrian opposition lawmaker has accused Turkey of running an informer network via its embassy in Vienna aimed at targeting the critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and promoting his policies.
On Tuesday, Peter Pilz, from the Austrian Greens party, said at a news conference that he had sent documents regarding the activities of the network, run by the umbrella group ATIB, to the police.
The ATIB is headed by the religion attaché at Turkey's embassy, Fatih Mehmet Karadas, and oversees the activities of dozens of mosques across Austria.
"The ATIB umbrella group is an instrument of hard, ruthless and, in my view, legally unacceptable Turkish government politics in Austria," Pilz told a news conference.
Pilz noted that the Turkish government sends imams to work for the ATIB to collect information in particular about followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan has accused of plotting an attempted coup in Turkey last July.
Gulen denies any involvement in the abortive coup, which claimed the lives of at least 240 people. However, the Turkish government has arrested tens of thousands of people over suspected ties with the US-based cleric.
The umbrella organization also monitors Turkish Kurds, Turkish opposition politicians and journalists in Austria, Pilz added.
This combo file photo shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Responding to the comments by the Austrian lawmaker, the Turkish government and the ATIB issued separate statements, denying the accusations.
“We absolutely reject these allegations. We urge Austrian officials to act with reason and to refrain from statements that would harm Turkish-Austrian relations and the peace of the Turkish community in Austria,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.
In another statement, the ATIB said that as an Austrian body it did not tolerate any foreign interference.
Austria's Chancellery and Interior Ministry said their experts are examining the matter.
In a similar case last month, Germany's domestic spy agency launched a probe into possible spying by Turkish clerics following a complaint by a German Green politician.
Last week, the Turkish embassy informed the Austrian Foreign Ministry that its religion attaché would end his activities in Vienna "soon," without providing a reason.
In a Sunday interview, Karadas told an Austrian newspaper that ATIB does not oversee the people's private lives, but said it has a duty to ensure that the people of Turkish origin in Austria are not "radicalized" by Gulen.
"That's why it is legitimate for us to do research and deliver reports in order to protect our fellow citizens and to protect the Austrian people," Karadas said.
Gulen denies any involvement in last summer's coup attempt.
Turkey wide-ranging crackdown following the coup has been criticized by Austria and other EU nations.
Tags

Jokpeme Joseph Omode

Jokpeme Joseph Omode stands as a prominent figure in contemporary journalism, embodying the spirit of a multifaceted storyteller who bridges history, poetry, and investigative reporting to champion social progress. As the Editor-in-Chief and CEO of Alexa News Network (Alexa.ng), Omode has transformed a digital platform into a vital voice for governance, education, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development in Africa. His career, marked by over a decade of experience across media, public relations, brand strategy, and content creation, reflects a relentless commitment to using journalism as a tool for accountability and societal advancement.

You may like these posts

Thank you for reaching out to us. We are happy to receive your opinion and request. If you need advert or sponsored post, We’re excited you’re considering advertising or sponsoring a post on our blog. Your support is what keeps us going. With the current trend, it’s very obvious content marketing is the way to go. Banner advertising and trying to get customers through Google Adwords may get you customers but it has been proven beyond doubt that Content Marketing has more lasting benefits.
We offer majorly two types of advertising:
1. Sponsored Posts: If you are really interested in publishing a sponsored post or a press release, video content, advertorial or any other kind of sponsored post, then you are at the right place.
WHAT KIND OF SPONSORED POSTS DO WE ACCEPT?
Generally, a sponsored post can be any of the following:
Press release
Advertorial
Video content
Article
Interview
This kind of post is usually written to promote you or your business. However, we do prefer posts that naturally flow with the site’s general content. This means we can also promote artists, songs, cosmetic products and things that you love of all products or services.
DURATION & BONUSES
Every sponsored article will remain live on the site as long as this website exists. The duration is indefinite! Again, we will share your post on our social media channels and our email subscribers too will get to read your article. You’re exposing your article to our: Twitter followers, Facebook fans and other social networks.

We will also try as much as possible to optimize your post for search engines as well.

Submission of Materials : Sponsored post should be well written in English language and all materials must be delivered via electronic medium. All sponsored posts must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail on Microsoft Word unless otherwise noted.
PRICING
The price largely depends on if you’re writing the content or we’re to do that. But if your are writing the content, it is $60 per article.

2. Banner Advertising: We also offer banner advertising in various sizes and of course, our prices are flexible. you may choose to for the weekly rate or simply buy your desired number of impressions.

Technical Details And Pricing
Banner Size 300 X 250 pixels : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Banner Size 728 X 90 pixels: Appears on the top right Corner of the homepage and all pages on the site.
Large rectangle Banner Size (336x280) : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Small square (200x200) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Half page (300x600) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Portrait (300x1050) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Billboard (970x250) : Appears on the home page.

Submission of Materials : Banner ads can be in jpeg, jpg and gif format. All materials must be deliverd via electronic medium. All ads must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail in the ordered pixel dimensions unless otherwise noted.
For advertising offers, send an email with your name,company, website, country and advert or sponsored post you want to appear on our website to omodjk(at)gmail(dot)com

Normally, we should respond within 48 hours.

Previous Post Next Post

Random Posts

News

                     Copyright Notice

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital contents on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from Alexa News Network Limited. 

نموذج الاتصال