Turkey Frees US Consular Staffer Whose Long Jailing Damaged Ties
- Metin Topuz is said to be released from jail on time served
- Topuz’s arrest deepened a major spat between the NATO allies
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A Turkish ex-employee of the US Consulate in Turkey was released from jail recently, according to people with knowledge of the matter, ending a long imprisonment that had frayed ties between the two nations.
Metin Topuz, a Turkish national who worked as a liaison for the Drug Enforcement Agency at the consulate in Istanbul, was arrested in 2017 on terrorism-related charges in the wake of a 2016 coup attempt. The US diplomatic mission publicly denied the charges, demanded his release, and the issue became a bitter diplomatic spat.