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loction 39°54'25.0"N 32°39'59.3"E The National Intelligence Organization (), also known by its Turkish initials MIT or MİT, or colloquially as the Organization (), is an
intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...
of the Turkish government tasked with gathering information of national interests. It gathers information for the
Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
and the
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
about the current and potential threats from inside and outside against all the elements that make up Turkey's integrity, constitutional order, existence, independence, security and national power and takes precautions when necessary. The MIT is under the provision of the
Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
. It works closely with the Turkish diplomatic missions overseas.


History

The organization was formerly named as the Millî Emniyet Hizmetleri Teşkilatı () (MAH). One of the MAH directors was
Celal Tevfik Karasapan Celal Tevfik Karasapan (1899–1974) was a Turkish diplomat and politician who served as the director of National Security between 1959 and 1960 and minister of press, broadcasting and tourism between 1962 and 1963. He was the ambassador of Turke ...
who held the post between 1959 and 1960. On 9 February 2023 the ''National Intelligence Academy'' (NIA), in Turkish ''Milli İstihbarat Akademisi'', was founded and began its activities on 6 January 2024. It is an institution within MIT with the purpose "to provide postgraduate education and conduct scientific research in intelligence, security and strategy."


Organization


Organizational structure

The Organization is headed by a Director-General, who is appointed by the
President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...
. The Director-General is typically a career intelligence officer with past experience in intelligence and security matters. The organization is divided into various departments and units, each specializing in specific areas of intelligence, counterterrorism, and analysis. These units include the Counterterrorism Department, Foreign Relations Department, Signals Intelligence Department, and more.


Connections to the Turkish military

According to the former director of Foreign Operations, Yavuz Ataç, the military presence in the organization is negligible, although the organization has a military heritage. In 1990, the percentage of military personnel was 35%, while in 2007 the lower echelons were 4.5% military. While the organization has historically recruited from relatives of existing employees, the former director,
Emre Taner Emre Taner (born 1942) is a Turkish civil servant who was until May 2010 the undersecretary (i.e. chief) of the governmental intelligence agency of Turkey, the National Intelligence Organization (, MİT). Career After graduating from the Sch ...
, says that this is no longer the case.


Duties

The MİT is in charge of collecting intelligence on existing and potential threats from internal and external sources posed against the territory, people and integrity, the existence, independence, security, and all the other elements that compose the constitutional order and the national power of the
Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. The MİT is in charge of communicating this intelligence to the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
, the
Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...
, the Secretary General of the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
and other relevant state organizations as necessary. The MİT is in charge of
counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...
activities in Turkey. Legally, it cannot be given any other duty and cannot be led to any other field of activity than collecting intelligence concerning the security of the Republic. The MİT engages in
cyberwarfare Cyberwarfare is the use of cyberattack, cyber attacks against an enemy State (polity), state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, ...
. The Turkish Ministry of National Defence considers
cybersecurity Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...
as the country's "fifth frontier" after land, air, sea and space. The MİT uses local cybersecurity solutions mostly developed by companies like
HAVELSAN HAVELSAN is a Turkish software and systems company having business presence in the defence and IT sectors. It is headquartered in Ankara, Turkey, with subsidiary companies and offices around Turkey and abroad. Havelsan is mostly active in the ...
and the
Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies, support and conduct research and development, and to ...
.


Activities

In 2014, it was revealed in the Turkey's Parliament's Internal Affairs Commission that the MİT has units working abroad and was wiretapping the telephones of 2,473 people, mostly related to "terrorism and spying activities." On 5 April 2018, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
Bekir Bozdağ Bekir Bozdağ (born 1 April 1965) is a Turkish lawyer and politician of Kurdish origin and former Minister of Justice. On 6 July 2011 he was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On ...
said that MIT has captured 80 Turkish citizens, suspected of links to FETÖ, from 18 different countries so far. On 16 October 2020, according to Reuters, Turkey's intelligence officials arrested a man, suspected of spying on foreign Arab nationals on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The officials said that the man entered Turkey using a non-UAE passport. The detainee confessed to the charges and Turkish authorities obtained "a trove of documents" from him showing UAE affiliation, but there were no reactions received from the UAE. In 2019, Turkey arrested two men suspected of spying on Arab nationals for the UAE. One of the men was connected to the murder of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...
. In 2022, MIT participated and helped in the
prisoner swap A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conventions Under the Geneva Conve ...
between Konstantin Yaroshenko (Russia) and Trevor Reed (USA) which took place in Istanbul.


Africa


Angola

Turkish judicial documents revealed that the National Intelligence Organization spied on Turkish nationals in Angola. They were supporters of the
Gülen movement The Gülen movement () or Hizmet movement () is an Islamist fraternal movement. It is a sub-sect of Sunni Islam based on a Nursian theological perspective as reflected in Fethullah Gülen's religious teachings. It is referred to by its membe ...
.


Egypt

On 22 November 2017, Egypt's public prosecutor ordered the detention of 29 people suspected of espionage on behalf of Turkey against
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
's national interests and joining a
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
organization. They were also accused of
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
, conducting overseas calls without a license and trading currency without a license. According to the results of an investigation by the General Intelligence Services, the group had been recording phone calls and passing information to Turkish intelligence as part of a plan to bring the
Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...
back to power in Egypt.


Gabon

In March 2018, MIT abducted three suspected members of the Gülen Movement from Gabon and transferred them from
Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...
to
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
on a private jet.


Kenya

MIT captured
Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...
in Kenya on 15 February 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy to
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is an international airport serving Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. The other three important international airports in Kenya include Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airport a ...
in
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
, reportedly with the help of the CIA. He was then forcibly transferred to Turkey and
imprisoned Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
on Imrali island where he faced
trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...
. Also, MIT has rescued an Italian citizen, Silvia Romano, who has been kidnapped in Kenya on 20 November 2018, and taken to Somalia. On 31 May 2021, the MIT arrested in Kenya Selahaddin Gülen, who is a nephew of Fetullah Gülen, and brought him to Turkey.


Libya

In August 2019, a report was published, which stated that MIT was operating within the capital Tripoli in order to support the
Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord (GNA; ) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endors ...
(which is UN recognized). MIT personnel arrived in Libya before any Turkish military unit was sent. In September 2020, five Turkish journalists were jailed in Turkey after revealing documents about the Turkish intelligence activities in Libya. Three of them released in February 2022.


Sudan

In a joint operation of MIT and NISS, a man believed to be a chief financier for the FETÖ, was captured and transported to Turkey.


Americas


United States

In 2018, the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
charged Kamil Ekim Alptekin and Bijan Rafiekian with acting as illegal agents of Turkey in the United States. In July 2019, it was reported that Turkish diplomats with the support of MIT, had extensively spied on critics of the government of Turkey. Among the organizations that were spied on, were schools, companies, nongovernmental and not-for-profit organizations and foundations located in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.


Asia


Armenia

In 2002, Armenian special services arrested an Armenian government official on charges of spying for Turkish national intelligence. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of spying for Turkey.


Azerbaijan

In 2018, MIT arrested a FETÖ member in Azerbaijan and brought him to Turkey. He was a teacher working for a school in Azerbaijan which was operated by FETÖ .


Georgia

According to a published news report, operatives of Turkish counterterrorism unit and MIT assigned to the Turkish Embassy had engaged in a large-scale spying campaign on FETÖ-linked organisations and foundations.


Iraq

In August 2017, the
Kurdistan Communities Union The Kurdistan Communities Union (, KCK) is a Kurdish political organization committed to implementing Abdullah Öcalan's ideology of democratic confederalism. The KCK also serves as an umbrella group for several confederalist political parties o ...
said that had captured two Turkish nationals in
Sulaymaniyah Sulaymaniyah or Slemani (; ), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar (Ezmer), Goizha (Goyje) and Qaiwan (Qeywan) Mountains in the northeast, Bara ...
, Iraq; the Kurdish group said both individuals captured were working for the MIT. The plan of the two captured Turks, according to
NRT News Nalia Radio and Television (NRT) is a media network in the Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governor ...
, was to assassinate a senior
Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...
(PKK) figure. In August 2018, it was announced that the PKK leader Ismail Özden and 4 other militants of the
Sinjar Resistance Units The Sinjar Resistance Units (; ''YBŞ'') is a Yazidi militia formed in Sinjar, northern Iraq. It was formed in 2007 to protect Yazidis in the wake of the Qahtaniyah bombings. It is the second largest Yazidi militia, after the pro- KRG Êzîdx ...
(YBŞ) were killed in Turkish airstrikes in
Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...
. The
Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...
carried out the joint operation with the MIT. In April 2019, 4 PKK militants were nabbed at Iraq's
Mount Sinjar The Sinjar Mountains (, , ), are a mountain range that runs east to west, rising above the surrounding alluvial steppe plains in northwestern Iraq to an elevation of . The highest segment of these mountains, about long, lies in the Nineveh Gover ...
and were brought to Turkey as part of a joint operation by the MIT and Turkish Armed forces. In June 2019, Diyar Gharib Muhammed — one of seven members of the PKK's Central Committee was Killed. A Turkish F-16 struck his vehicle with the assistance of human intelligence provided by National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in the Kortek Bend area of Qandil in northern Iraq. In August 2019, 4 PKK militants were killed in an airstrike by Turkish warplane in a joint operation with MIT in the Qandil area of northern Iraq. In September 2019, 3 PKK militants were killed in an airstrike by Turkish warplane in a joint operation with MIT in the Gara region of northern Iraq. The same month the MIT in a joint operation, in northern Iraq's Qandil region, with the Turkish Armed Forces neutralized a senior female PKK member together with her driver. In January 2025, MIT neutralized Islam Dotkanlou, a top figure in the PKK's Iranian branch, along with his bodyguard during an operation carried out in Iraq.


Malaysia

A Turkish teacher in Malaysia was abducted in 2016 from Kuala Lumpur over alleged links to the Gülen movement. According to reports he has been subjected to beating, torture, death threats and staged executions during his pretrial detention in Ankara. In August 2019, MIT arrested the Malaysia chief of the FETÖ in an operation and brought him back to Turkey. The person was wanted by Turkey on charges of being involved in the activities of terrorist organization in multiple countries.


Mongolia

In July 2018, a Turkish teacher with links to the Gulenist movement was allegedly kidnapped in the Mongolian capital and taken to the city's airport. He has been released after authorities temporarily grounded the airplane which was operated by the Turkish Air Force.


Myanmar

Turkish judicial documents revealed that Turkish nationals at Myanmar, who were Gülen supporters, were spied.


Pakistan

In September 2017, In a Joint operation of MIT, ISI and Punjab Police, A Prominent Turkish Teacher and his family were arrested and brought to Turkey. He was vice president of FETÖ- affiliated educational foundation operating in Pakistan.


Syria

After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the intelligence services of several NATO countries began operating near the Syria-Turkey border, coordinated by MIT. While operating on the Turkish side, all initiatives had to be cleared first with MIT. The 2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey revealed MIT's role in supplying arms to Syrian rebels in Syria. The Turkish journalists who exposed this arrangement were charged with espionage and "divulging state secrets" by the Turkish courts. One of the journalists claimed:'Those who sent the convoy from Turkey knew that the weapons were "heading to end pin
ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
hands"'.
Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...
officers who intercepted some of the intelligence agency's weapons-filled trucks also faced espionage charges. In June 2019, a Turkish court sentenced the group of officers and prosecutors who stopped the MIT trucks to at least two decades behind bars for obtaining and disclosing confidential state documents. They were also accused of being FETÖ members. The Turkish newspaper ''
Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...
'' published video footage which it said showed security forces discovering weapons parts being sent to Syria on trucks belonging to MIT. In December 2020, Turkish court sentenced to prison 27 people because they stopped the MIT trucks in 2014. In October 2014, an Egyptian official said that MIT was helping the ISIS with satellite images and other critical data. In October 2014,
Press TV Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news media organisation, owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), that broadcasts in the English and French languages. The 24-hour channel, which has headquarters in Tehra ...
journalist
Serena Shim Serena Shim (, ''Serena Ali Suhaim''; October 10, 1985 – October 19, 2014) was a Lebanese-American journalist for Iranian state-owned Press TV.
was killed when the car she was travelling in collided with a heavy vehicle in
Suruç Suruç (; ; ''Sruḡ'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 744 km2, and its population is 100,961 (2022). It is on a plain near the Syria–Turkey border, Syrian border southwest ...
in what are claimed, by her employer and parents, to be suspicious circumstances. The car crash happened just days after Shim reported that the MIT had threatened her and accused her of spying because of her reporting on Turkey's stance on
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
militants during the siege of Kobane. She also claimed that she had received images of ISIL militants crossing the Turkish border into Syria in
World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...
and
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
trucks. On 18 March 2016, Russia's UN Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin ( rus, Виталий Иванович Чуркин, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕurkʲɪn; 21 February 1952 – 20 February 2017) was a Russian diplomat. As a child actor, he starred in three films '' The Blu ...
sent a letter to the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
saying that three Turkish humanitarian organizations sent weapons and supplies to extremists in Syria on behalf of MIT. The three NGOs were the Besar Foundation, the Iyilikder Foundation, and the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms (IHH). In a 2018 interview, former
Turkish National Police The General Directorate of Security (, EGM), or the Turkish National Police, is the national civil police of Turkey primarily responsible for law enforcement in urban areas, whilst rural policing falls under the jurisdiction of the Gendarmerie G ...
official Ahmet Yayla said that the MIT has used Turkey's IHH as an intermediary to arm Islamist terrorists. In 2016, one of the commanders of the Syrian Turkmen rebel group
Seljuk Brigade The Seljuk Brigade (, ) is a Syrian Turkmen rebel group participating in the Syrian civil war, named after the Seljuk Turks. History The Seljuk Brigade was founded in early 2013 in the northern Aleppo Governorate by Colonel Talal Ali Silo an ...
in Syria, Hani al-Mulla, was assassinated. Suspicion ranged from the involvement of Turkish intelligence and Turkish-backed rebels to
ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
. Since at least 2016 MIT played a role in helping what is now
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...
separate from its ISIS and
al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
past. MIT continued to liaison with HTS as the group consolidated control in
Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...
province, a significant Syrian city and province that borders Turkey. MİT played an active role in the
Turkish military operation in Afrin Operation Olive Branch () was an invasion by the Turkish Armed Forces and Syrian National Army (SNA) in the Kurdish-majority Afrin District of northwest Syria, against the People's Protection Units (YPG) of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). ...
, including the coordination and direction of the
Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA; ), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participate in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the sta ...
, as well as intelligence support in the identification of targets for
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...
airstrikes, and post-destruction evaluation. According to documents revealed in 2019, the MIT was secretly transported ammunition and fighters into Syria with buses in 2015. In May 2019, Syria's Military Intelligence Directorate officials met with Turkish MIT intelligence officials including MIT's head
Hakan Fidan Hakan Fidan (born on 17 July 1968) is a Turkish politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs since June 2023. He was previously the director of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) from March 2010 until June 2023.''To ...
, despite hostilities between the Syrian and Turkish governments. Turkey's ruling
Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...
(AKP) released a statement saying the meeting was held to prevent a conflict between Syria and Turkey. AKP spokesperson Omer Celik defended the meeting, saying "Our intelligence agencies and our elements in the field can hold any meeting they like at any time they like to prevent some humanitarian tragedies or in line with some needs." In 2020,
European Union Agency for Asylum The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) is an agency created by European Union Regulation 439/2010 within the area of freedom, security and justice framework to increase the cooperation of EU member states on asylum, improve the impleme ...
reported that a lot of the armed opposition groups in Syria are under the near-total control of MIT and the Turkish Ministry of Defence.


Europe


Austria

In 2017,
Peter Pilz Peter Pilz (born 22 January 1954) is an Austrian politician ( JETZT). From 1986 to 2017, he was a member of the Austrian Green Party. Political career Born in Kapfenberg, Styria, Pilz was a member of the Austrian Parliament (''Nationalrat'') be ...
released a report about the activities of Turkish agents operating through ATIB (Avusturya Türkiye İslam Birliği – Austria Turkey Islamic Foundation), the Diyanet's arm responsible for administering religious affairs across 63 mosques in the country, and other Turkish organizations. Pilz's website faced a
DDoS In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyberattack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host co ...
attack by Turkish hacktivists and heavy security was provided when he presented the report publicly. Per the report, Turkey operates a clandestine network of 200 informants targeting opposition as well as Gülen supporters inside Austria. In September 2020, a Turkish spy was arrested and confessed. In addition, the Austria's interior minister said that there are indications that Turkey's secret service tried to recruit Austrian citizens and that
Europol Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU). Established in 1998, it is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and serves as the central hub for coordinating c ...
and the European Council had been informed. Turkey rejected the accusations. In October 2020, a Turkish spy turned himself in to Austrian police and claimed that MIT had plans to attack the Austrian politicians,
Aygül Berivan Aslan Aygül Berivan Aslan (born 16 October 1981 in Kulu, Turkey) is a Kurdish-Austrian politician and a member of the Austrian Green Party The Greens – The Green Alternative (, ) is a green political party in Austria. The Greens currently sit in ...
and Peter Pilz. In addition, he said that at the past he had been forced to give a false testimony which convicted Metin Topuz, an employee at the American Consulate in Istanbul. Turkey denied accusations.


Belgium

In 2017, the
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
interior minister, Liesbeth Homans, started the process of withdrawing recognition of the Turkish-sponsored and country's second largest mosque, Fatih mosque in Beringen accusing the mosque of spying in favor of Turkey. Cyprus In 1994, a prominent
Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...
supporter of
Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...
, Theophilos Georgiadis, was murdered outside his house in
Aglandjia Aglandjia ( []; ) is a suburb and municipality of Nicosia, Cyprus. The municipality has a population of 20,783 (2011) and is contiguous with the Nicosia Municipality. Aglandjia is near the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, buffer zone. It ...
,
Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...
by a Greek Cypriot who was likely paid off by Turkish intelligence, using a Turkish Army officers gun. According to reports, partially confirmed by
Cyprus Police The Cyprus Police (, ''i''), is the national police service of the Republic of Cyprus, falling under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993. The duties and responsibilities of the Cyprus police are set out in the amended Police La ...
, there have been migrants crossing into the government controlled side of
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
with links to terrorist organisations and Turkish Intelligence with a Police spokseperson saying that the suspected individuals are under constant surveillance by the intelligence appartus.


Czech Republic

Judicial documents revealed that critics of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were spied upon in the Czech Republic.


France

MIT was blamed for the 2013 murders of three PKK activists in Paris.


Germany

In July 2015 The
Tagesspiegel (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington, D.C., and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, since reunification ...
newspaper reported that German federal prosecutors were looking into claims that three men - two Turks and a German national - were instructed by MIT to spy on Erdogan critics in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, particularly
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
and members of the Muslim minority
Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...
community. In 2016, Bundestag intelligence oversight committee members demanded answer from German government about the reports that Germans of Turkish origin are being pressured in Germany by informers and officers of Turkey's MIT spy agency. According to reports Turkey had 6,000 informants plus MIT officers in Germany who were putting pressure on "German Turks".
Hans-Christian Ströbele Hans-Christian Ströbele (; 7 June 1939 – 29 August 2022) was a German politician and lawyer. He was a member of Alliance 90/The Greens, the German green party. Education and early career Ströbele was born on 7 June 1939 in Halle, Saale, ...
told that there was an "unbelievable" level of "secret activities" in Germany by Turkey's MIT agency. According to Erich Schmidt-Eenboom, not even the former communist
East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
secret police had managed to run such a large "army of agents" in the former
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
: "Here, it's not just about intelligence gathering, but increasingly about intelligence service repression." German lawmakers have called for an investigation, charging that Turkey is spying on suspected Gulen followers in Germany. In December 2016, a 31-year-old Turkish citizen who had resided in Germany for a decade was arrested in Hamburg on suspicion of espionage and plotting the assassination of two prominent Kurds on behalf of Turkish security services. In March 2017 the Turkish secret intelligence service was accused of conducting espionage of more than 300 people and 200 associations and schools linked to supporters of exiled
Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (27 April 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Turkish Ulama, Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement who as of 2016 had millions of followers. Gülen was an influential Neo-Ottomanism, neo-Ottomanist, A ...
.
Boris Pistorius Boris Ludwig Pistorius (; born 14 March 1960) is a German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as Federal Minister of Defence in the governments of successive Chancellors Olaf Scholz and Fri ...
, interior minister for
Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
State, called this "intolerable and unacceptable", stating that "the intensity and ruthlessness with which people abroad are being investigated is remarkable". A German security official said that "we are horrified at how openly Turkey reveals that it is spying on Turks living here". On 30 March 2017 Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere expresses suspicions that the move may have been intended to weigh on Turkish-German relations − "to provoke us in some way". The appallment was deepened when it was revealed that the 300 persons included politicians, including Michelle Müntefering. In June 2017, according to news reports, Turkish Intelligence had reportedly been collecting an increasing amount of information on
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
members who are involved in defense as well as domestic and foreign policy. A spokeswoman for Bundeskriminalamt confirmed the report that the agency met with German MPs "in recent weeks" to discuss "safety" concerns, since "protecting members of the Bundestag is a legal task of the BKA". In October 2017, according to German press reports officials working in Germany's immigration authorities pass on information about Turkish asylum seekers to Turkey. In many cases, even their locations were also revealed, that even their families did not know for security reasons. These incidents showed that Turkish spies may have infiltrated German authorities. In addition,
Herbert Reul Herbert Reul (born 31 August 1952) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as State Minister for Internal Affairs in the government of successive Ministers-President Armin Laschet (2017–2021) and H ...
, the interior minister for the German state of the
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
, submitted a report to the state parliament, alleging that the Turkish-German organisation '' Osmanen Germania'' works with MIT. The organisation denied the accusations. In July 2018, Germany banned the organisation on allegations it is involved in organized crime and represents a threat to the general public. In October 2021, German authorities arrested a Turk in a hotel at
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
for spying on behalf of Turkey. Police found a pistol, ammunition and a list with the names Gulen supporters. The 2024 report from Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency (BfV) revealed that Turkish intelligence services continue to operate extensively in Germany, primarily engaging in transnational repression. Their main targets include followers of the Gulen movement, supporters of the PKK and individuals or organizations labeled as “enemies of the state” by Turkey. In addition, Turkish organizations in Germany are involved in influence operations aimed at Turkish communities, with the goal of affecting political decision-making processes in Germany. The report highlights the Union of International Democrats (UID), based in Cologne and founded in 2004, as the most prominent state-affiliated organization carrying out such influence activities on behalf of Turkey.


Greece

In December 2011, the Turkish newspaper Birgun reported on an interview with former Turkish prime minister
Mesut Yilmaz Mesut is a Turkish given name for males, derived from the Arabic name Masoud. Notable people named Mesut include: First name * Mesut of Menteşe (died 1319), Turkish bey * Mesut Bakkal (born 1964), Turkish football manager * Mesut Cemil (1902–19 ...
saying that Turkey was behind a number of large
forest fires A forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Au ...
in Greece in the 1990s. Yilmaz later denied the statements, saying he had been misquoted by the newspaper and that he had been actually referring to unsubstantiated reports of Greek involvement in Turkish forest fires. In addition, former head of Greek intelligence service said they had intelligence that Turkish agencies were involved in the arsons in the 1990s but had no proof. He said they had received information from their agents in Turkey that Turkish agents or others were involved in the forest fires on Greek islands. In August 2013, Greek police arrested a German citizen on the island of
Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...
on suspicion of spying for Turkey. Police said they had found in the man's possession cameras, laptops, maps and glasses with an embedded camera, and an email he had sent to an unidentified recipient with details on Greek warships and army vehicles on the island. The man confessed he had photographed barracks and other military-related buildings on the island for five people he believed were Turkish nationals who paid him up to 1,500 euros ($2,000) for each assignment. Greek authorities suspected that the individuals worked for the Turkish secret services. In October 2014, Greek police arrested a German citizen on the island of
Kos Kos or Cos (; ) is a Greek island, which is part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 37,089 (2021 census), making ...
because he photographed sensitive locations on the island. He admitted that was spying for MIT and he was recruited in 2011. He was paid 2,000 euros every month and the money were deposited to his bank account in Germany. Furthermore, he said that he was one of the many European retirees living in Greece who have been recruited by Turkey in order to spy against Greece. In June 2016, a Turkish intelligence officer who worked in the
Trabzon Province Trabzon Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 4,628 km2, and its population is 818,023 (2022). Located in a strategic ...
admitted that his agency ran surveillance on Greek tourists who visited the province. Many Greeks visit the Trabzon and the historic Greek Orthodox
Sumela Monastery Sumela Monastery (, ''Moní Panagías Soumelá''; ) is a museum and former Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Greek Orthodox monastery in the Pontic Mountains, in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province in modern Turkey. Nestled in a ...
there. In February 2017, the newspaper
Kathimerini ( Greek: Η Καθημερινή, ; ) is a daily, political and financial morning newspaper published in Piraeus, Athens. Its first edition was printed on 15 September 1919. is considered a newspaper of record and the leading right-wing newspape ...
reported that the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation recruits EU retirees to spy on a variety of Greek sensitive locations, including military bases, airports and power plants. In March 2017, the former editor in chief of the English version of Turkish '' Zaman'' newspaper, Abdullah Bozkurt, posted a tweet on his account warning of increased
clandestine operations A clandestine operation (op) is an espionage, intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces. Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primari ...
of Turkish intelligence agents in Greece. In April 2020, a document published by the Gülen-aligned Nordic Monitor, claims that Turkish intelligence was spying on refugees and migrants in Greece in order to find details of those who were persecuted by the Erdogan administration. In August 2020, more documents revealed the illegal information gathering and surveillance activities in Greece by the MIT, the Turkish Embassy and the Turkish consulates against Turkish asylum seekers. In December 2020, Greek authorities arrested two Greek Muslims in
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
for espionage. One was working at the Turkish Consular Authority in Rhodes and the other on a passengers ship which connects the Rhodes with
Kastelorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo ( ; ), officially Megisti (), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about southeast of Athens and east of R ...
.


Kosovo

In March 2018, six Turkish nationals from
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
had been captured by Turkish intelligence and brought to Turkey over alleged links to schools financed by the Gulen movement. Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said, speaking to supporters and party members in Istanbul: "Our National Intelligence Agency captured six of the highest ranking members f Gulen's networkin the Balkans in the operation it conducted in Kosovo."


Lithuania

The cyber team of the MİT hacked the server of the ByLock in Lithuania and transferred all signed-up IP's to the headquarters in Ankara. The MİT had finalized its operation in December 2015 and January 2016, before ByLock has ceased its operation. Bylock was a secure communication app and Turkish authorities believe that it was exclusively allocated for the members of the Gülen Movement.


Moldova

In 2018, Turkish together with Moldovan intelligence services detained at least six Turkish nationals employed at a private chain of high schools in Moldova. All were teachers or students at the Horizont Turkish high-school private chain, which is seen as close to the Fethullah Gulen.


Norway

The Gülen-aligned
Stockholm Center for Freedom The Stockholm Center for Freedom (The SCF) is an advocacy organization founded in 2017 by the Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt. The SCF has been headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden due to the Turkish government crackdown on freedom of the press ...
accused the Norwegian Islamist religious organizations that are affiliated with Turkish government that were illegally profiling and intelligence gathering activities on Turks who are believed to be affiliated with Gülen movement in Norway.


Serbia

In 2015, Matthew Aid wrote that according to reports spies from Turkey is among the most active in Serbia. Turkey organize and finance the movement of
Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
s for the secession of the Raška region.


Sweden

According to the Gülen-aligned
Stockholm Center for Freedom The Stockholm Center for Freedom (The SCF) is an advocacy organization founded in 2017 by the Turkish journalist Abdullah Bozkurt. The SCF has been headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden due to the Turkish government crackdown on freedom of the press ...
, an investigation was launched on suspicion of unlawful intelligence gathering and illegal "mapping" against opposition circles in Sweden.


Switzerland

Parliamentarian Alex Kuprecht announced that the government was considering opening a criminal case against regarding espionage and other illegal activities performed by Turkish agents against dissidents. Also, there were espionage against academics who were critical of Turkey. On March 16, 2017, the Office of the Attorney General launched a criminal inquiry into possible foreign spying on Switzerland's Turkish community. Investigation also concerned an attempt to kidnap a Swiss-Turkish in Zurich to take him abroad. That same month, Switzerland's foreign minister warned Turkey against illegal spying on expatriate Turks in Switzerland. In April 2017, a Swiss policeman of Turkish origin was arrested on the accusation that he was spying for the Turkish government.


Turkey

At the time of the
1971 Turkish military memorandum The 1971 Turkish military memorandum (), issued on 12 March that year, was the second military intervention to take place in the Republic of Turkey, coming 11 years after its 1960 predecessor. It is known as the "coup by memorandum", which the mi ...
, the MIT did not inform Prime Minister
Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...
about the coup plans, and asked for the PM's resignation on the day of the coup. During the
1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état (), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by memorandum. During ...
, the plans for "Operation Flag" (Bayrak Harekâtı) were conveyed to the military units by an MİT airplane. Once again, the agency did not notify the prime minister, even though legally it was under his authority, as it was part of the coup. During the
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...
, the MİT fought against the coup plotters. According to Turkish media, the Turkish National Intelligence Organization prevented a second attack days after the initial
2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies intended for use by Hezbollah exploded simultaneously in two separate events across Lebanon and Syria, in an Israeli attack nicknamed Operation Grim Beep ...
. They intercepted a shipment at
Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport is the larger of two international airports serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. It is the largest airport in Turkey, the largest privately-owned airport in the ...
containing 1,300 pagers and 700 chargers destined for Lebanon.


Ukraine

In July 2018, a gulen-linked suspect was brought to the Turkey from Ukraine following operations conducted by the MİT. In February 2022, MIT captured and abducted the Turkish arm dealer and former special forces captain in the Turkish armed forces, Nuri Bozkir, who exposed the Turkish arms transfers to militant groups in Syria and Libya. He applied for political asylum in Ukraine and Turkey issued an Interpol red notice calling for his arrest for the 2002 murder of Turkish academic Necip Hablemitoglu while Bozkir denied any involvement.


United Kingdom

In 1994, Mehmet Kaygisiz, a
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...
man with links to the PKK and the north London underworld, was shot dead at a café in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
. His murder remained unsolved and at the time his murder was thought to be drug-related, but in 2016 new documents suggest that MIT ordered his murder. In 2018, Turkish
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
player
Enes Kanter Enes Kanter Freedom (; born Enes Kanter; May 20, 1992) is a Turkish-American former professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Switzerland to Turkish parents, he wa ...
, who was against Turkey's president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
, informed the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
he will not be traveling with the team to London because he believed that a trip there would be life-threatening. When a reporter asked him if he really believes a trip to London would be dangerous, he replied: "They've got a lot of spies there. I can get killed very easy. That will be a very ugly situation."


Oceania


Australia

Turkish imams preaching in Australia's mosques have been instructed to spy on Australian supporters of Fethulah Gülen. The illegal surveillance, information collection and monitoring activities of the Turkish intelligence agency in Australia was exposed in classified documents in 2020.


List of the Directors of The National Intelligence Organization


Permission for testimony

Testimony in court may only be made with and by the permission of the Director of the MİT. According to Article 29 of Law No. 2937, MİT agents must not give their testimony if it pertains to state secrets without further permission from the MİT.


Museum

The Organization owns a non-public Museum of Espionage consisting of a variety of spy equipment, which was revealed once in October 2013.


Equipment


References

* "Bayraktar TB2, Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı'nın envanterine girdi". takvim.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 26 takvim.com.trMarch 2021.


Further reading

*
Turkish


External links

* * * *

about the MİT {{Authority control Turkish intelligence agencies
Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...
Military of Turkey National law enforcement agencies of Turkey 1965 establishments in Turkey