UAE upholds life sentence against Turkey national, after suicide of its spy in Turkey

UAE’s Supreme Court yesterday upheld a life sentence against a Turkish citizen after its Palestinian spy committed suicide inside a Turkish prison in Istanbul, Al-Khaleej Online reported.

Forty-nine-year-old Turkish citizen Ali Ozturk Mehmet was initially accused of “launching an extensive campaign on a Facebook account named Ali Ozturk Mehmet without getting an official permit.”

According to the official UAE news agency, WAM, the money would have been used to promote the ideologies of terrorist groups in Syria and to send them funds through money transfer companies in the country.

Mehmet’s indictment stated, according to WAM, that he was found guilty of “colluding” with former Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar Al-Sham.

READ: Turkey arrests suspected spies for UAE, probing Khashoggi link

This came, according to Al-Khaleej Online, after the Palestinian Zaki Hassan committed suicide inside a Turkish prison while he was being detained for spying for the UAE.

Turkish authorities announced the arrest of two Palestinian spies working for the UAE, including Hassan, who was a retired Palestinian Authority military commander and held a PhD in political sciences.

Hassan was very close to dismissed Fatah leader Mohammad Dahlan.

Hassan’s family accused the Turkish authorities of killing him, but reports on Sunday confirmed Hasan hanged himself in prison.

The Anadolu Agency said that he was found dead in his cell on Sunday, according to a statement by Istanbul’s chief prosecutor.

The Turkish national received the life sentence on 25 December 2018. His lawyers said he was severely tortured.