Turkey’s spy chief plans private visit to main opposition CHP

The head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) is set to visit the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) headquarters in Ankara this week for a meeting, the ANKA news agency reported on Monday, citing sources from the party.

According to ANKA, the visit’s date and time will remain undisclosed and the press will not be invited.

CHP leader Özgür Özel and members of the party’s central executive board (MYK) are expected to meet with MİT President İbrahim Kalın, who it is speculated will provide a presentation and answer questions from the party officials.

The visit is expected to mark a rare direct engagement between the intelligence chief and the main opposition party.

The planned visit follows criticism from CHP members, including party spokesman Deniz Yücel, after Kalın gave a presentation during a MYK meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) about the death of Fethullah Gülen.

Gülen, a Turkish cleric and Islamic scholar who had once been an ally but became a foe of President Erdoğan, passed away at a hospital in Pennsylvania on October 20 at the age of 83. He had been living in the United States since 1999, but the movement he inspired had millions of followers in Turkey and around the world.

In 2016, Gülen was accused of initiating a failed coup attempt. He steadfastly denied any involvement.

CHP officials questioned why intelligence information regarding Gülen was being shared exclusively with the AKP and Özel formally requested that Kalın brief the CHP, asserting the need for transparency and equitable access to critical information

Kalın reportedly acknowledged the request in late October, promising a swift response. His planned visit may be fulfillment of that commitment.

Over the last decade Gülen and his movement, known as Hizmet (Service) or more commonly the Gülen movement, which in the past had been praised by the Turkish government for their activities in education and inter-religious and intercultural dialogue, faced various accusations from the government, including masterminding corruption investigations revealed in 2013 and a coup attempt in July 2016.

The Turkish government labeled Gülen and his movement “terrorists” in May 2016.

Gülen and his followers have strongly denied any involvement in the coup or any terrorist activities but have been the subject of a harsh crackdown for a decade, which intensified in the aftermath of the abortive putsch.

MİT is known to employ extralegal methods, including renditions, to secure the return of Gülen movement supporters from abroad after official extradition requests were denied.

According to a 2023 report by Freedom House on transnational repression, Turkey has become the world’s second most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression. A wide range of tactics used by the Turkish government against its critics abroad include spying through diplomatic missions and pro-government diaspora organizations, denial of consular services and outright intimidation and illegal renditions.