Back in November, thousands of Turks flocked to Twitter to follow in real-time a momentous trial taking place in New York. Standing in the dock was a senior Turkish banker accused of collaboration in a scheme to evade US sanctions on Iran, while Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, the key suspect in the case, became the star witness after cutting a deal with prosecutors. International dimensions of the case aside, the Turkish audience’s interest was driven more by what Zarrab had to say about his ties with Turkish politicians and bureaucrats who allegedly facilitated his dealings in return for massive bribes.
Turks were already familiar with Zarrab. He had been detained in a large-scale corruption probe in Turkey in December 2013, which Ankara managed to thwart, claiming it was a plot by Gulenist police and prosecutors to undermine the government. The case in New York was similarly depicted as a plot against Turkey, but many Turks were unconvinced and believed the trial would expose what Ankara had covered up earlier.
