A Turkish court has ordered the pre-trial detention of Metin Gurcan, a founding member of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), accused of “political and military espionage”, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.
Gurdjieff, a retired military man, backed the establishment of DEVA by Ali Babacan, a former deputy prime minister and caretaker Prime Minister under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Gurcan is also a defense analyst.
Anadolu reported that police questioned Gürdan about his contacts with foreign diplomats based in Ankara. The court was not immediately available for comment.
In a televised interview today, Babacan said his party supported Gurcan and that his legal advisers would support him “to the end”. The party does not yet know the details of the investigation, he added.
“Gurcan’s work is based on open sources. “He has no access to state secrets,” Babacan said.
Last week, the DEVA leader said his colleague’s arrest was an attempt to divert public attention away from the financial crisis. The pound has lost 25% of its value since early last week amid concerns about aggressive interest rate cuts, a policy promoted by President Erdogan.
Polls show that DEVA, founded in March 2020, has around 2%. The popularity of Erdogan and his AKP party has plummeted for many years. The Turks cite financial mismanagement as key factors in this.
DEVA and other opposition parties are calling for elections, but the government insists presidential and parliamentary elections will be held as scheduled in June 2023.
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