Austria says Turkish spy caught amid probe into Turkish-Kurdish clashes
Austria will prosecute an individual who reportedly confessed to spying on behalf of Turkey.
Austria has caught a person spying for Turkey on its soil, the interior minister said today, in a revelation that threatens to further strain relations between Ankara and Vienna.
During a televised news conference, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said that an individual had been “recruited by the Turkish secret service to spy on other Turkish citizens or Austrian citizens with a Turkish migration background to then report them to the Turkish security authorities.”
“We have a clear message to the Turkish Republic: Turkish espionage and Turkish interference with civil liberties have no place in Austria,” Nehammer said, adding that he had informed EU Council President Horst Seehofer about the investigation.
"We will also work at the European level to ensure that Turkey does not interfere in the internal affairs of the EU states," Nehammer said in a statement.
