Politics
Middleman for Mossad faces hefty jail term in Türkiye
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul wrapped up an indictment against Kosovar national Liridon Rexhepi, who is accused of running a financial network for Israel’s Mossad. Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Monday that prosecutors asked for a jail term of up to 35 years for Rexhepi, who was arrested last year.
The indictment says Rexhepi acted as head of a “money ring” for the Israeli intelligence agency and transferred cash to locals and foreigners working for Mossad in Türkiye in return for intelligence. The indictment also names Yıldıray Boztepe, a Turkish national, as an accomplice of Rexhepi. Both men are accused of political or military espionage and face the same sentences. Prosecutors ask for a minimum of 18 years and nine months for suspects.
Rexhepi was arrested by Istanbul police in September 2024. Authorities said he had traveled to Türkiye from abroad in August 2024 and arrived at an airport in the southern province of Antalya before his arrest in Istanbul.
According to the indictment, the suspect had money transactions with other suspects working for Mossad who were already under investigation and sent cash to said suspects in return for their work for the Israeli intelligence. He is accused of directing locals and foreigners recruited by Mossad, including instructing them to take photos and videos by drones of Palestinian nationals living in Istanbul. Boztepe was among the recipients of cash sent by Rexhepi.
The indictment says two individuals filed a complaint to local authorities after spotting a person making a drone shoot around their residences in Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece district and a subsequent investigation revealed that Israeli intelligence operatives obtained information about said people who later escaped an armed attack. The man accused of taking drone photos and videos of said residence told investigators that he was hired by Boztepe for the job. Boztepe is the owner of a commercial drone company. Boztepe, in turn, was hired by a man identified as “Abdullah,” a codenamed suspect with past links to Mossad. According to the indictment, based on messages found in the cellphones of Boztepe, he negotiated with people linked to Mossad for a price for drone shooting of housing complexes in Istanbul, usually populated by Palestinians who fled Israeli attacks. Messages included exchanges on the security of those complexes and the exact addresses of targeted Palestinians. Boztepe was later paid by two suspects, Ardit Lusufi and Festim Lusufi, who acted as messengers of Rexhepi.
Boztepe denied charges of espionage and claimed he was contacted by a man called “Abdullah” for drone shooting and did not suspect it when different people sent him cash in exchange for the job, thinking they were working for “Abdullah.” He claimed he was not aware of the identity of people in places whose photos and videos were shot by drones.
Suspects are expected to appear before a court in the coming days. Prosecutors say suspects worked on identifying and locating people who were targeted by the Israeli intelligence. “They attempted to obtain private information about targets and shared it with Israeli intelligence operatives, who likely planned abduction or assassination of targeted individuals,” they said in the indictment.
As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages on, Türkiye has uncovered several networks operated by Mossad in the country.
Dozens were detained or arrested on charges of having ties to Mossad and running espionage rings for Mossad operatives. Their primary targets have been Palestinians living in Türkiye or visiting the country, particularly those linked to Hamas.
Türkiye views Hamas as a resistance group, while Israel brands it as a terrorist group.
Türkiye does not view Africa as a zone of competition or short-term geopolitical rivalry but as a continent of “equal partners,” Talha Köse, the head of the country’s National Intelligence Academy said Monday.
Speaking at the opening of a conference titled “Türkiye-Africa Strategic Dialogue” organized by the academy in Ankara, Köse said Western-centric academic and political approaches had long framed Africa through an Orientalist lens, overlooking the continent’s historical agency and capacity for self-transformation. He argued that modernization theories and liberal peace doctrines were often applied as universal models, disregarding Africa’s social and political realities.
“Today we understand much better how important it is to listen to Africa through Africans’ own voices and experiences,” Köse said.
Highlighting Africa’s young population, strategic location along global trade and energy routes, natural resources and growing production capacity, Köse said developments on the continent now affect not only Africa but also the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the wider world. He noted that major global powers, including the United States, China, Russia and European countries, have all updated their Africa strategies.
“Türkiye’s Africa perspective is shaped within this broader strategic landscape,” he said.
Köse highlighted that Türkiye’s Africa policy rests on four pillars: respect for sovereignty, humanitarian responsibility and sincerity, win-win cooperation, and long-term, sustainable partnerships. He added that Ankara supports “African solutions to African problems” and seeks stable, integrated partners across the continent.
The approach, Köse said, has been consistently pursued since Türkiye launched its Africa initiative in 2005, citing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s long-standing ties with African leaders as evidence.
Moreover, Somalia’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hassan Moallin Muhamoud Sheikhali, also addressed the event, describing Türkiye as a reliable and stabilizing partner in the Horn of Africa.
“While some external actors undermine sovereignty and fuel division, Türkiye has consistently respected African unity and contributed to stability,” Sheikhali said.
He underlined that Africa is a young and dynamic continent with significant demographic momentum, rich natural resources and strong economic potential, while also occupying a key geopolitical position.
Describing the gathering as a valuable platform, Sheikhali said Türkiye and African countries aim to further deepen their relations on the basis of mutual respect, shared interests and collective responsibility.
The two-day program brought together experts, academics and senior officials from Türkiye and across Africa to examine the strategic dimensions of Türkiye-Africa relations, with discussions set to focus on regional security challenges, defense industry cooperation and the future of strategic partnerships. High-level participants attended from Somalia, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Egypt, Chad, South Africa, Senegal and Gambia.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) marked its 57th anniversary on Monday in Ankara. The party’s leader, Devlet Bahçeli, hailed the long life of the party that evolved from a political movement founded by the late Alparslan Türkeş in the 1960s.
Bahçeli’s speech to the party’s supporters in the capital inevitably turned to the terror-free Türkiye initiative he championed for the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK. The veteran politician reiterated his commitment to the initiative and said that the party was willing to pay the price “to prevent this fight between brothers.”
The nationalist leader’s suggestion to get the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to Parliament so that he could call upon the group to lay down arms in 2024 had stunned many accustomed to his strict discourse against the PKK. Though such attempts to disarm the PKK were not new, it was the first time that Bahçeli, a man known for suggesting death by hanging for Öcalan once, led the initiative. Some far-right groups have accused Bahçeli of betraying nationalism. Bahçeli dismissed these claims in his lengthy speech on Monday and said they were “as Turkist as we were in the past.” “We are questioned by political converts,” he lamented, referring to former members of the MHP, which is known for its steadfast support of counterterrorism operations to eradicate the terrorist group.
The PKK claims to fight for Kurdish rights, while Bahçeli advocated strengthening Turkish-Kurdish unity in Türkiye to end the scourge of terrorism. The terrorist group killed thousands across Türkiye since the 1980s to achieve its goal of a self-styled “Kurdistan.” In his speech on Monday, Bahçeli said they needed to “wake up the national conscience.” “This is what we are aiming for. You cannot divide us, Turks and Kurds will carry Türkiye to the future together,” he said. Bahçeli underlined that they rejected “racist nationalism based on blood ties and ancestry” and issued a stern warning to “anyone attempting to argue against the foundation principles of the Republic of Türkiye with the intent of destroying these principles through differences in ethnic roots.”
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met on Monday with Nickolay Mladenov, the director-general of the U.S.-proposed “Board of Peace,” in the capital Ankara, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
Fidan received Mladenov for talks that focused on the situation in Gaza and broader regional developments.
No further details were immediately released on the content of the discussions.
Recently, Fidan joined representatives of countries signing the “Board of Peace” charter unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland.
He wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal that the “Board of Peace,” of which Türkiye is also a founding member, offers a “historic opportunity” to alleviate the longstanding suffering of the people of Gaza, meet their humanitarian needs, and establish “a lasting and inclusive peace in the region.”
He stressed that Ankara’s present position is to do whatever is possible to contribute to the ongoing peace process in Gaza, whether in humanitarian, military, or political form.
Fidan said Türkiye has made it clear it would not resume trade with Israel while the war continues and humanitarian aid is prevented from entering Gaza, underscoring Ankara’s firm stance on the issue.
In January, the White House announced the formation of the Board of Peace alongside the approval of a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, one of four bodies designated to manage the transitional phase in the enclave.
The creation of the board coincided with the launch of phase two of a cease-fire agreement, which halted Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 71,000 people and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
The initiative is part of a 20-point plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and adopted by the U.N. Security Council under Resolution 2803 last November.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to meet members of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) delegation on Wednesday at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
The delegation, which includes senior figures Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, is expected to discuss ongoing political issues linked to the Terror-Free Türkiye initiative.
They will be meeting at 2 p.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT).
The Imralı delegation is a delegation made up of DEM Party lawmakers who have been pursuing dialogue with the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, on Imralı Island.
Earlier on Tuesday, during a parliamentary group meeting, DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatımoğulları Oruç said the release of politicians imprisoned for political activities remains essential for advancing the terror-free process.
Turning to Syria, Oruç welcomed the Jan. 30 agreement reached between the Syrian government and the PKK’s Syrian offshoot, YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), calling on the international community to support its implementation. She said Türkiye holds significant responsibility in ensuring the deal is not derailed, arguing that meaningful regional cooperation would benefit both Syria’s and Türkiye’s long-term stability.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative was launched last year by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) when its leader, Devlet Bahçeli, implied that the government should facilitate access to Öcalan, so that he could call on the PKK to lay down arms.
Bahçeli’s proposal was endorsed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had earlier hinted at the initiative with messages of unity between Turks and Kurds. The PKK has long justified its campaign of terrorism as a fight for the rights of Kurds. Both Bahçeli and Erdoğan have repeatedly said that ending terrorism and maintaining unity were essential for Türkiye’s “home front” in the face of Israeli aggression in the region, pointing to the fact that Israel may target Türkiye next as part of its expansionist policies. Öcalan responded positively to Bahçeli’s call and urged the PKK to lay down arms. In July, the PKK started the disarmament process with a ceremony in northern Iraq. The complete disarmament of the group is expected to be concluded by the end of 2025.
Turkish authorities on Monday arrested two individuals who were detained previously on allegations of working for the Israeli spy agency Mossad. Mehmet Budak Derya and Veysel Kerimoğlu, who had been under surveillance for some time and were captured in a joint operation by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Istanbul Police Department, completed their procedures before a criminal court of peace at the Istanbul Courthouse.
The court ruled that the suspects be arrested on charges of “obtaining information that must remain confidential for the security or political interests of the state for purposes of political or military espionage. “It had been determined that company owner Derya, who had been under MIT surveillance for some time, and his employee Kerimoglu were transferring information to Mossad. Authorities found that Derya expanded his commercial activities toward Middle Eastern countries through Kerimoglu, developed social and commercial ties with Palestinians opposed to Israel’s policies in the region, and transmitted the information they gathered to the Israeli service.
It was understood that Derya, who has maintained ties with Israeli intelligence since 2013, held third-country meetings in various European countries with numerous operatives using the code names “Luis, Jesus/Jose, Dr. Roberto/Ricardo, Dan/Dennis, Mark, Elly/Emmy, and Michael.”
Investigators determined that Derya communicated with the Israeli service through an encrypted system and, following Mossad operatives’ instructions, purchased SIM cards as well as internet modems and router devices from Türkiye and other countries, sending photos of labels containing passwords, serial numbers, production details and MAC addresses to his contacts. It was also established that during Derya’s most recent meeting with Mossad officials in January, they discussed setting up a bank account for a front company, designing a website, opening social media accounts, and researching potential partner firms.
Derya was tasked with establishing a front company abroad to infiltrate international supply chains. According to the alleged plan, the company would coordinate procurement and shipment of products from countries designated by Mossad to final destinations identified by Israeli intelligence, working with three legitimate companies operating in Asia at different stages of the logistics process. Following the completion of the investigation, Derya and Kerimoğlu were detained in Istanbul on Feb. 6 as part of the “MONITUM Operation” conducted jointly by MIT, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Istanbul Police Department’s Counterterrorism Branch.
Turkish intelligence, in recent years, has uncovered several spy networks operated by independent groups, terrorist groups like Daesh, or foreign intelligence agencies in Türkiye.
According to Turkish security sources, Mossad often uses online communication applications to recruit operatives to spy on Palestinians and other foreign nationals living in Türkiye.
Turkish authorities have detained eight suspects as part of an investigation into what prosecutors described as the “current financial structure” of the Gülenist terror group (FETÖ), the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday.
In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said the suspects were detained following a joint operation by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Ankara Police Department’s counterterrorism units. The investigation also covers FETO’s alleged clandestine network within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), known as the group’s secretive military (“mahrem”) structure.
Authorities said the suspects were identified through technical and physical surveillance and the examination of digital materials.
Two of the eight detainees had previously been dismissed from public service, while all were found to have continued alleged organizational activities despite earlier prosecutions for membership in the group, prosecutors said.
During searches of homes and locations allegedly used for organizational activities, security forces seized financial assets and digital equipment, including promissory notes valued at TL 2.5 million ($57,298.45), as well as cash in Turkish lira, U.S. dollars and euros, gold bars, and coins, authorities said.
Police also seized mobile phones, laptops, storage devices, SIM cards and other electronic materials.
One of the suspects has been formally arrested by a criminal court of peace, while judicial procedures for the remaining seven were continuing, the prosecutor’s office said.
Separately, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said nationwide operations against FETÖ had intensified in recent weeks. In a post on the social media platform NSosyal, Yerlikaya said gendarmerie units conducted operations in 29 provinces over the past two weeks, detaining 63 suspects.
According to Yerlikaya, those detained were accused of maintaining contact with senior members of the terrorist group through pay phones, providing financial support to groups linked to FETÖ, spreading propaganda on social media and attempting to flee abroad.
Of the 63 suspects, 41 have been arrested and four placed under judicial supervision, while legal proceedings for the others are ongoing, he said.
“Traps set against the national will are being dismantled one by one,” Yerlikaya said, praising security personnel involved in the operations.
Meanwhile, police in the northwestern province of Çanakkale arrested a fugitive convicted in a FETÖ-related case. The suspect, who had been sentenced to 14 years and two months in prison, was taken into custody during routine security checks and transferred to a high-security prison, authorities said.
FETÖ has been facing increased scrutiny following the July 15, 2016 coup attempt that killed 251 people and injured nearly 2,200 others. Tens of thousands of people were detained, arrested or dismissed from public sector jobs following the attempt under a state of emergency.
Last year, more than 1,600 FETÖ suspects were arrested, while 1,524 other suspects were released under judicial control, according to figures from the Interior Ministry as of December 2025.
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