ISTANBUL, Dec 22, 2021 (NNB/AFP) – Turkish police have arrested and jailed a US diplomat working for Washington’s consulate in Beirut on suspicion of issuing a fake passport to a Syrian national, Turkish media reported Wednesday.
The diplomat, identified only by the initials D.J.K., was initially detained at Istanbul Airport on November 11, state media cited police sources as saying.
The American has since been charged with providing a faked copy of their own passport to a Syrian who was trying to fly from Istanbul to Germany, the reports said.
The diplomat received $10,000 in exchange for the passport during a handoff at Istanbul Airport, which was captured by closed circuit cameras, according to the reports.
The US embassy in Ankara made no immediate comment.
Turkey’s pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper noted that diplomats’ customary immunity from prosecution does not apply in countries in which they have no accreditation.
This gave Turkey the right to arrest the diplomat, who was accredited to work in Lebanon, the newspaper said.
The arrest threatens to further strain Turkey’s relations with Washington, which have deteriorated since the election of US President Joe Biden.
