The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) has recently denied allegations made by the lawyers of opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in which they stated that MİT had allegedly prepared a report on Reza Zarrab, a prominent Iranian Azerbaijani businessman based in Turkey, and his alleged ties with a number of ministers prior to the Dec. 17 operation. The baselessness of the allegations by Kılıçdaroğlu's lawyers was uncovered when Zarrab filed a claim for compensation due to defamation made by Kılıçdaroğlu during a speech at the party's group meeting on Jan. 27, 2014.
A Turkish Internet newspaper, T24, claimed on Jan. 5, 2014, that MİT had prepared a report on Zarrab, and Kılıçdaroğlu's lawyers also said that the report was presented to the Prime Ministry. In this regard, Istanbul's Civil Court of General Jurisdiction has requested MİT to indicate whether such a report was prepared. According to local media sources, MİT indicated to the Istanbul Court that, "There are no reports made on whether Reza Zarrab had committed a crime on April 18, 2013, thus no report on Zarrab was presented to the Prime Ministry." Zarrab was arrested and then released as part of the Dec. 17 operation, in which the Gülen Movement allegedly attempted to overthrow the elected government. While Kılıçdaroğlu's lawyers had objected to the statement made by MİT, the Istanbul Court has postponed the hearing date until June.
The Gülen Movement, led by Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S., has been accused of infiltrating state institutions to allegedly gain control of state mechanisms, wiretapping, forgery of official documents and spying. The movement has been under scrutiny in numerous countries including Russia, the U.S., Azerbaijan and Germany.
