In light of its achievement of what is described as great and remarkable progress in the field of defense industries, these industries face another kind of challenge related to spying on their projects that have become troublesome to some countries and arms companies.
Last Tuesday, the Turkish security forces arrested 6 people during a security operation in the capital, Ankara, on charges of leaking information about defense industry projects to foreign companies.
The Public Prosecutor stated in a statement that "the intelligence service, in cooperation with the Ankara Security Directorate, raided the places of the six detainees," noting that "the arrest took place after a one-month investigation, and that one of the detainees was holding the position of director of a project in the Turkish defense industries."
In mid-December, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Turkish Defense Industries Authority and its officials, the first of which is its President, Ismail Demir, who emphasized that the sanctions will only increase him and his colleagues insistence on achieving self-sufficiency, especially in strategic weapons.
Earlier, Demir stressed that Turkey had succeeded in inventing a lot of war equipment and technologies with local capabilities and capabilities despite the "hidden and declared" siege.
It is noteworthy that the Turkish Military Electronic Industry Center "Aselsan" was established in 1975 with the aim of providing military communication devices for the army to protect it from any potential espionage operation as a result of its use of communication devices of other foreign countries, and today it is the largest producer of defense systems in the country.
Intelligence is vigilant
A security source stated that the six spies have been working for a year, and that during the raid, security forces found huge amounts of foreign currency in their homes and workplaces, along with digital materials.
The security source confirmed to Al-Jazeera Net that the detainees "provided important information to major Western companies in the defense industries, and investigations are underway with them about the nature and extent of the information," ruling out their obtaining dangerous secrets that affect the workflow and the uniqueness of the Turkish defense industries with some characteristics.
He pointed out that "this espionage operation is not the first, as spies have been arrested earlier, and the intelligence services are wary of this matter."
On his part;
The former head of Military Intelligence at the Ministry of Defense, Ismail Haqqi, said that his country has opponents, enemies and rivals, "so it is natural to target them, especially in the issue of defense industries that are achieving tangible success that has disturbed Western and regional powers."
Hakki told Al-Jazeera Net, "Turkish defense industries companies have broken records for their sales volume during the year 2020 compared to their international counterparts, and they are continuing to develop steadily, which pushes competitors to adopt all means in order to know information about their projects with the aim of impeding and impeding them."
He added, "If it is proven that certain governments are behind this espionage, this will affect Ankara's relationship with these governments that it spies on, but the government does not act with ill-considered reactions in its international relations."
Previous espionage operations, and it is
worth noting that the recent arrest operation is not the first;
In recent years, this was preceded by other espionage operations, which are as follows:
Last October, a court sentenced a local employee at the US Consulate in Istanbul to more than 5 years in prison for espionage and aiding the "Gulen" organization.
The Istanbul Public Prosecution had summoned the citizen Jan Türk, based on testimonies made by "Matin Topuz," another consulate employee who was arrested on charges of "violating the constitution, espionage and trying to overthrow the government of the Turkish republic."
In the same month, a court ordered the imprisonment of the Palestinian, Ahmed Al-Astal, on charges of spying for the UAE.
Al-Astal conveyed information to the Emirates about Turkey's internal and external political developments and its relations with the world, in addition to preparing a report on the failed coup attempt of the "Gulen" organization on 15 July 2016.
Last June, the authorities arrested 4 spies working for France, according to Sabah newspaper.
According to the newspaper's investigation, the four suspects were gathering information about the internal workings of the Mohafaza, Religious Affairs and Defense Industries Association.
The investigation stated that the suspects used forged ID cards belonging to the intelligence agency agents, and they claimed that they were gathering information about ISIS.
- In April 2019, the Alternate Magistrate Criminal Court in Istanbul ordered the imprisonment of two detainees accused of spying for Abu Dhabi.
The court stated that the imprisonment of the two detainees - one of them called "Zaki YM Hassan" who later died in prison - was charged with "political and military espionage, international espionage."
- In May 2018, the border guards, while carrying out their patrol duties, arrested Lt. Agilos Mitrudis and Sergeant Demetros, in the "Bazar Kula" border area with Greece in Edirne.
The Magistrates and Punishment Court in Edirne ruled the imprisonment of the Greek soldiers, on charges of "attempting to military espionage and entering a prohibited military zone."
- In December 2016, the American priest Andrew Bronson was arrested and tried on charges of espionage and crimes committed in the interest of the Gulen organizations and the Kurdistan Workers Party - classified as terrorists - under the cover of a cleric, and his cooperation with them despite his prior knowledge of their goals.