German authorities have announced that they will resume providing financial support to the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB). The funding was previously suspended over spying allegations against DİTİB.
Germany's Family Ministry in a statement said after a detailed investigation on the issue, it was decided that the financial aid to DİTİB will be resumed, as reported by German news outlet Deutsche Welle Turkish on Monday.
According to the report, aid worth nearly 1 million euros will be delivered to DİTİB. The ministry also highlighted that the DİTİB has recently launched two new projects. One of them aims at promoting democracy and standing up against radicalism and extremism while the other focuses on humanitarian support to refugees.
Recently, an investigation was launched by the German prosecutor's office against four imams affiliated with the DİTİB over spying allegations. German police raided the homes of the four imams in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in February on grounds of carrying out espionage on behalf of the Turkish government against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group responsible for masterminding the failed July 15 coup attempt last year.
The Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB) rejected the spying allegations since the very beginning, noting that no orders had been sent to DİTİB, which is a separate, independent organization.
Contrary to Germany's official accusations, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in North Rhine-Westphalia found no evidence linking DİTİB to the spying allegations.
