Another U.S. Consulate Employee Summoned to Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul

Reports indicate that Turkish government officials summoned another employee of the U.S. consulate for questioning on Monday, October 9. According to the official Anadolu Agency, this consulate employee has been summoned in connection with last year's failed coup in Turkey. Anadolu states that the U.S. consulate employee was summoned after the arrest and questioning of his wife and daughter in the city of Amasya on the Black Sea coast. The report does not specify whether this consulate employee has been questioned. However, Anadolu mentions that the wife and daughter of this U.S. consulate employee were arrested due to their connection with the network of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish cleric living in the U.S. The report adds that the mother and daughter have been transferred to Istanbul for judicial proceedings. Anadolu writes that the consulate employee, named 'N.M.J.', who does not have diplomatic immunity, has been summoned to testify at the prosecutor's office following the questioning of his wife and child. Last week, Metin Topuz, a local employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, was arrested on charges of connections to Fethullah Gülen. This arrest has led to renewed tensions in U.S.-Turkey relations, with both Washington and Ankara announcing the suspension and limitation of visa processing for each other's citizens. The Turkish prosecutor's office states that the statements of Metin Topuz during questioning led to the arrest of the mother and daughter in Amasya. The Turkish government considers Fethullah Gülen the main architect of last year's failed coup and describes the movement stemming from his ideology as a 'terrorist group'. Turkey has been seeking Gülen's extradition from the U.S. Gülen has denied any connection to last year's coup in Turkey.