Türkiye: Böll Foundation employee arrested on suspicion of espionage

An employee of the Heinrich Böll Foundation was arrested and questioned by the Turkish judiciary on suspicion of espionage. It is also said to have been about the foundation's work with a Turkish LGBTQ+ association.

The Turkish judiciary has temporarily arrested an employee of the Heinrich Böll Foundation on allegations of espionage and brought her to an Istanbul court for questioning. Yonca Verdioğlu Şık, who is married to the opposition MP and journalist Ahmet Şık, was questioned there about her work for the foundation, her lawyer said. Şık is now at large again.

During the interrogation, Şık was asked about her work at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, how the institution works, its activities and the payments she received. In particular, it was about the collaboration with the LGBTQ association “Kaos GL”. Her client presented her activities transparently and explained how the foundation works. The investigation was “questioning and disturbing,” explained the lawyer. She also learned today that there was a ban on Şık leaving the country.

In September there were nationwide raids on LGBTQ associations in Turkey, among others, and numerous people were arrested. The judiciary accuses them of obscenity and prostitution. According to the state news agency Anadolu, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said that an investigation into the clubs' financial reports had shown that large amounts of money were transferred from public institutions from abroad.

Turkish broadcasters close to the government had reported that official audit reports from the Istanbul Governor's Office showed that the clubs had not acted in accordance with their founding purposes. An association was also mentioned that, among others, the Heinrich Böll Foundation supported in the past - most recently in 2023. The Heinrich Böll Foundation defends itself against the accusation of having illegally financed associations.