Austria is investigating espionage operations carried out by a national of Turkish origin who was spying on Turkish citizens and sending reports to security authorities in Ankara.
Austria took several diplomatic steps in cooperation with Germany, which also saw a rise of Turkish spies on its soil. In this regard, the Foreign Ministry requested a meeting at the Turkish embassy.
Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer held a press conference revealing the presence of a Turkish "network of agents” in Austria. He said that 35 persons who entered Turkey from Vienna between 2018 and 2020 were arrested before Turkish intelligence contacted them asking for their cooperation in exchange for their release.
Nehammer also indicated that authorities are investigating more suspected espionage activities, warning Turkey that this would not be tolerated.
Austrian newspapers reported that the spy was an Austrian woman of Turkish origin, who was previously arrested in Turkey and spent time in prison. It seems that the Turkish intelligence services offered her freedom in exchange for agreeing to carry out espionage activities, targeting Turkish opposition in Austria.
The minister announced that the spy had confessed to being “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.”
He added that the judiciary will file charges on suspicion of espionage, stressing that: “We have a clear message to the Turkish Republic: Turkish espionage and Turkish interference with civil liberties have no place in Austria.”
Nehammer said that he had informed his German counterpart, Horst Seehofer, of the arrest, calling for joint action with Berling to confront the growing "Turkish influence" in Europe.
“We will also work at the European level to ensure that Turkey does not interfere in the internal affairs of the EU states.”
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said Ankara rejected the “baseless claims,” adding the comments showed Vienna was unable to “escape populist rhetoric and its anti-Turkey obsession.”
For her part, Integration Minister Susanne Raab said that Austria is now a target of Turkish espionage, with Ankara's secret service exerting influence on individuals, associations, and mosques.
“Erdogan's long arm reaches as far as Vienna,” Raab said, asserting that authorities will fight all these influences that try to drive a wedge into Austrian society and the Turkish community in Austria.
Raab indicated that Turkey seeks to exercise its influence in Austria through Turkish associations, noting that there are 500 Turkish organizations in Austria.
A German expert specializing in Turkish intelligence told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are about 800 Turkish agents working in the German-speaking European countries, namely Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, due to the large presence of Turkish nationals.
The expert estimated there are more than 8,000 Turkish agents in Germany spying for free on opposition figures.
Figures show that there are about 4 million Turks or Germans of Turkish origin living in Germany, and about 300,000 in Austria.
Germany arrested a number of Turkish spies and brought them to trial, including those who were even planning assassinations against Kurdish citizens on German soil.
In 2017, German authorities carried out one of its largest operations against Turkish spies and arrested 20 agents.
So far, Berlin did not take any additional political or diplomatic action, but the pressures from Vienna and tensions from Ankara, especially after its military moves in the eastern Mediterranean, may push Germany to agree to support Austria by threatening to take diplomatic steps against Turkey.
