Lawsuit opened on spying charges on soldiers who searched Syria-bound intel trucks

ADANA – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

The court has accepted an indictment on spying charges against 13 soldiers who effectuated a search on trucks belonging to the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) bound toward Syria in the southern province of Adana last January.

Prosecutors have accused the soldiers in the indictment of “strengthening Syria’s hand to the detriment of Turkey” by conducting spying activities.

“It has been understood that the suspects were seeking to put Turkey in a difficult position by stopping the trucks in this manner and disclosing them to the world,” the indictment said, according to Doğan News Agency.

“This [demonstrates] spying activity looking to eventually strengthen Syria’s hands against Turkey’s state, its government, its MİT and its Foreign Ministry, leaving them in a weak, guilty and helpless position,” the indictment also said.

The soldiers were also accused of wiretapping seven MİT members, as well as the family members of an eighth MİT officer.

The trucks were stopped on Jan. 19, causing much uproar as the government slammed the prosecutors and soldiers involved in the operation, arguing that both the truck and the personnel were protected by the MİT’s legal immunity. Responding to claims, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said the truck was carrying aid to Turkmens in Syria, but did not give details about its cargo.

Two of the soldiers were arrested following a court order on April 9. The search on the trucks has been repeatedly slammed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said he was the one entitled to give the necessary instructions regarding any decision involving the MİT. He added that the operation was a sound example on how members of a “parallel gang” had infiltrated the judiciary and security forces, putting the blame on the movement of the U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.