Espionage probe launched into MP’s wife

ISTANBUL

Turkish police detained Yonca Verdioğlu Şık, the wife of Workers’ Party of Türkiye (TİP) lawmaker Ahmet Şık, in Istanbul on Nov. 10 as part of an investigation into espionage allegations.

Police arrived at Şık’s house in the city’s Beyoğlu district and informed her that she was the subject of an investigation launched by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Following a routine medical checkup, police escorted Yonca Verdioğlu Şık from her home to the Çağlayan Courthouse, where she was scheduled to submit her statement to prosecutors.

The charge against Yonca Verdioğlu Şık was reported as “political or military espionage,” with authorities yet to disclose the specific grounds for the allegation.

In a written statement, the left-wing party dismissed the allegations as baseless and announced that it would launch a round-the-clock justice vigil.

TİP argued that because of its opposition stance, the government was targeting the relatives of its lawmakers instead of the MPs themselves, who enjoy parliamentary immunity.

Yonca Verdioğlu Şık serves as Türkiye Program Coordinator at the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, a foundation working on environmental issues, democracy and human rights.