The German court in Hamburg has reached a verdict in the case of Turkish intelligence MİT agent Mehmet Fatih Sayan who gathered information on Kurdish politicians in Europe and planned assassinations. The court ignored the documents proving the assassination plans against Kurdish politicians by Sayan, who had been in prison since December 15 and on trial for a month.

The court stated that Sayan had gathered information on Kurds in Germany between January and November 2016 for Turkish intelligence services and had received 20.950 Euros for this assignment. But the court issued Sayan the minimum sentence, despite the evidence and Sayan’s confessions during his detention.

SENTENCE REDUCED BECAUSE SAYAN “IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL”

The chief judge argued that the reason for the sentence was that Sayan’s efforts were not large-scale and didn’t pose a threat to the German state. The chief judge stated that the issue was, at its core, Turkey’s domestic disputes spilling over to Germany and alleged that Sayan’s espionage activity was not “professional”.

The court stated that the 2 to 6 years prison sentence demanded by the prosecution was excessive and issued Sayan’s release on condition of 2 years on probation. The court’s verdict is seen as a reward-like punishment, as Sayan’s residence permit had expired on December 15, 2016 when he was taken into custody and Sayan had applied for asylum at the Hamburg Immigration and Refugees Bureau.

Sayan is expected to be released tonight or tomorrow morning, and will have to sign in with the police once a week.

FREQUENTLY CHANGED STATEMENT

With this verdict, Sayan will be able to stay in Germany. The prosecution, contrary to the court, had stated that Sayan had been working for Turkish intelligence agencies since 2013 and had received 30 thousand Euros as compensation.

After his espionage activity was exposed, Sayan had applied for asylum in the Hamburg Federal Immigration and Refugees Bureau on December 12, 2016. In his first statement there, he said the MİT had been planning assassinations against Kurdish politicians. Later in his deposition at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), he changed his story completely.

Sayan continued with the same attitude during the trial as well, denying almost all allegations by claiming they were coincidences in his personal life, clearing the MİT and attempting to put the blame on pro-Gülenist police officers. During the trial, Sayan said he “accepted the news stories about [himself] as if they were true so [his] asylum claim would be approved”.

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