International abductions conducted by Turkey’s security services should draw more concern from its Western partners than it is currently receiving, said Serdar San, an Ph.D candidate at the University of Toronto and a researcher on transnational repression.
San, who wrote an article examining Turkey’s practice of using covert methods that include outright kidnapping opponents in other countries, has grown increasingly aggressive under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish allies in NATO and the European Union should regard this practice with more concern.
In a recent podcast with Ahval News, San walked through a series of incidents in recent years where pro-government proxies or Turkish agents themselves took bold operations in the heart of the West aimed at Ankara’s perceived enemies. These include a failed kidnapping attempt of a Turkish businessman in Switzerland, a thwarted assassination attempt against a sitting member of Austria’s parliament, and a recent assault against journalist Erk Acarer outside his home in Berlin.