Austria says Turkish spy caught amid probe into Turkish-Kurdish clashes

Al-Monitor Staff

Sep 1, 2020

Pro Kurdish supporters march by Austrian Parliament as approximately 2000 thousand people attended a protest in Vienna on October 10, 2014 to show solidarity for Syrian Kurds who are fighting to defend the Syrian-Turkey border town of Kobane from Islamic State (Isis) militants. AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR (Photo credit should read JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images) — Pro-Kurdish demonstrators march in front of the Austrian Parliament building during a protest in Vienna on Oct. 10, 2014, to show solidarity for Syrian Kurds who are fighting to defend the Syrian-Turkey border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants. — JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

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.”