An indictment by prosecutors in Istanbul accuses seven suspects of conducting espionage for China. Suspects, scheduled to appear before a court in Istanbul in the coming weeks, face up to 25 years in prison each.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the city says Chinese intelligence operatives contacted people hailing from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China who live in Türkiye and threatened to harm their family members in China if they did not obtain intelligence for them. The suspects face charges of "obtaining confidential information regarding state affairs for the purpose of political or military espionage." They allegedly collected information about people of Xinjiang origin and associations in Türkiye where those people are members.

The indictment says Chinese intelligence operatives also offered those people financial support, freedom of travel in Xinjiang and contact with their families in return for working for them. Prosecutors also say the suspects, due to their Uyghur roots, easily mingled with fellow Uyghurs living in Türkiye on refugee status.

Shadeke M., one of the defendants, allegedly met Chinese intelligence operatives in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. M. is accused of conveying information about several associations bearing the name of East Turkestan, a term generally used for Xinjiang by dissidents of Chinese rule. Prosecutors say the suspect was paid more than $132,000 in exchange for the espionage work.

Türkiye and China enjoy close ties, although the issues relating to the rights of the Uyghur community in China’s Xinjiang have overshadowed relations in the past.

In recent times, Türkiye has taken steps to strengthen its relations with all regions of China.