Turkish defector says he was ordered to kill Kurdish-Austrian politicianOctober 16, 2020 - 13:11 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish intelligence operative has confessed that had been ordered to shoot a Kurdish-Austrian politician which he did not want to do. The incident happened on September 15: the man entered a police station in Vienna, identified himself as Feyyaz Ozturk, and asked for police protection, The New York Times says. He also said that he had been forced to give false testimony used to convict an employee at the American Consulate in Istanbul. Ozturk’s confession refers to the conviction of Metin Topuz, who worked for the U.S. State Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration in Istanbul. In June, Topuz was sentenced by a Turkish court to more than eight years in prison on charges of aiding an armed terrorist group. When the Turkish operative turned himself in, he told the police that he was retired from a long career at the Turkish intelligence agency, known as the M.I.T., but had recently been tasked to carry out an attack on Aygul Berivan Aslan, a former Green Party lawmaker of Kurdish descent and a vocal critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a later police interview, Ozturk also named other targets he had been given in addition to Aslan. Peter Pilz, the publisher of the online magazine ZackZack and a former Green Party lawmaker, who served on the intelligence oversight committee and is a longstanding and vocal critic of Erdogan and his treatment of the Kurdish population. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. Yerevan State University, Ucom sign Memorandum of Cooperation Rector of Yerevan State University Hovhannes Hovhannisyan and General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian signed the memorandum. EU to provide budgetary support to Armenia The agreement is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the educational system of Armenia. Aliyev: No peace treaty unless Armenia changes constitution Azerbaijan will not sign a peace treaty with Armenia unless the latter changes its constitution, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. |