Turkish police on Wednesday said they arrested a U.S. diplomat in Turkey last month for selling his passport to a Syrian trying to travel to Germany, but the U.S. State Department denied that the person in custody was a diplomat.
„We are aware of the detention of a U.S. citizen in Turkey. The individual is not a U.S. diplomat. We are providing appropriate consular services“, - State Department spokesperson said to Europe Time.
According to BBC News, Turkish police say they arrested a US diplomat at Istanbul airport last month after they suspect he handed over his own passport to a Syrian national. Officers say the Syrian man, identified as RS, was trying to fly to Germany using the document.
CCTV footage from the incident on November 11 shows the men swapping clothes at the airport, police said.
The Syrian is facing charges of forging an official document and has been released on bail. The diplomat, identified only by the initials DJK, remains in detention, according to Turkish police.
