Turkey Convicts U.S. Consulate Employee on Terrorism Charges

(Bloomberg) -- A Turkish court sentenced an employee of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul to prison on charges of aiding a terrorist organization, a ruling that might prompt a protest from Washington.

Nazmi Mete Canturk, a security guard, was convicted for providing assistance to the outlawed movement of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric accused by Turkish authorities of masterminding a failed coup in 2016, state news agency Anadolu said on Tuesday.

He becomes the second staff worker at the American mission in Istanbul to be convicted this year. In June, Metin Topuz was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on similar charges, drawing criticism from American officials who said there was no credible evidence to support the ruling.

Ties between Turkey and the U.S. came to the brink of collapse in 2018 when an American pastor, Andrew Brunson, faced charges of espionage in Turkish courts. He was eventually convicted but released after accounting for penalty reductions and time served.

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