Turkey Probes 'Handover' of Dissident Colonel to Syria
A Turkish prosecutor has launched a probe after two Syrian refugees staying in a Turkish border camp were handed over to Syrian security forces, Anatolia news agency reported Friday.
Syrian dissident army colonel Huseyin Mustafa Harmus and Mustafa Kassum were taken out of a refugee camp in Altinozu, Hatay province, near the Syrian border and delivered to Syrian security forces "by force," said the prosecutor's office in southern Adana province, in a statement cited by Anatolia.
Five people including a member of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) were detained and some MIT officials were summoned to testify as part of the probe, it reported.
The investigation centered on "accusations of political espionage," said the statement according to Anatolia, without elaborating.
Turkey is home to some 7,500 Syrians who have fled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's deadly crackdown on opponents that has left more than 6,000 people dead since mid-March according to human rights groups.
Once a close ally of Syria, Turkey has since been at the forefront of international criticism of the Damascus regime.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also urged his once close friend Assad to quit.
Source: Agence France Presse
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