The Turkish news outlet T24 has reported that Hüseyin Gün, detained as part of an investigation into “political espionage” linked to Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, revealed contacts listed in his phonebook, including prominent foreign officials.
Gün, accused of transferring information to intelligence agencies, was arrested partly due to the contents of his contacts list, which reportedly included agents from the British MI6 and U.S. CIA, as well as former presidents and prime ministers.
Among the individuals cited were former Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and former Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.
According to Turkish sources, Gün had a 32-minute phone conversation with Karapetyan in 2010. Asked about the nature of the exchange, Gün stated: “He wasn’t prime minister when I spoke to him. He was engaged in business matters. It was a purposeful discussion.”
He also had a phone conversation lasting over 45 minutes with Armen Sarkissian. “He wasn’t president when I met him,” Gün explained.
The case has led a Turkish court to order the arrest of İmamoğlu, accusing him of political espionage. (T24)
Hüseyin Gün was detained on July 4 and has given a 262-page testimony outlining his connections and interactions with numerous figures, in an attempt to benefit from leniency. His statement also mentions İmamoğlu, members of the opposition CHP party, and media figures, prompting the prosecutor’s office to open investigations against İmamoğlu, his advisor, and TELE1 editor-in-chief Merdan Yanardag.
