His name is Mehmet Fidan. He worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 37 years and retired in 2022. His wife, Güler Fidan, still works there.

Turkey became acquainted with him through the grey passport scandal. Recall that in Malatya’s Yeşilyurt district, 43 out of 45 people who traveled to Germany with service passports for a municipal event sought asylum, causing a scandal that occupied Turkey’s agenda for months. During those days, both Turkish and German media reported that Mehmet and Güler Fidan, employees of the Hanover Consulate General who exposed the scandal, were punished and reassigned to headquarters. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the reassignment of the Fidan couple was unrelated to the scandal "in terms of the subject, reason, and timing." However, Mehmet Fidan, who disclosed the details of the scandal, was dismissed from his position on the grounds that his "social media posts, which also appeared in the German press, created the perception that our Hanover Consulate General and other state institutions condoned human trafficking."

Fidan challenged this decision in an administrative court and had it overturned. He retired.

However, his belongings being left in boxes at the door of the Hanover Consulate and his resentful complaints are etched in memory. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was difficult, grumpy, uncooperative, and did not follow the rules of civil service. According to him, the reason for what happened to him was his refusal to remain silent about a series of irregularities, from misuse of allowances to improper practices.

ILLEGAL VISA OPERATIONS

But it didn’t end there. Mehmet Fidan continued to report oddities to various courts and top officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The email sent to Hakan Fidan, ending with "let it be recorded in the official records of the state and noted in history," was one of these. He was informing the Ministry of what was happening due to the lawsuit he had filed against it.

So, what’s in the email?

• Former Deputy Consul of Hanover, Mehmet Fidan, claims that illegal activities were conducted on the computers of the Hanover Consulate General after his tenure: "... personal data of many citizens and officials, primarily Turkish Republic Identification Numbers, were obtained and disseminated."

• According to him, illegal visa operations are still being conducted in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "A foreign service officer named Ü.K., during his duty at the Conakry Embassy, carried out illegal visa operations until recently. I am reporting through this petition that after his retirement, he returned to Africa to continue these activities. I also report that there are 'voice recordings' proving that the embassy’s undersecretary and the ambassador were aware of these visa operations. Many crimes are being committed within the institution."

• He claims that some officials, like him, are being pressured to the point of being unable to perform their duties: "Officials who adhere to the law and work according to legal procedures, without being part of organizational cycles, are subjected to continuous psychological torture and harassment. Honest officials are portrayed as bad, while dishonest ones are protected through illegal cycles and coordinated approaches."

• Files regarding individuals with alleged connections to FETÖ (Fetullah Terrorist Organization) are closed without investigation.

• He asserts that there is still an active structure within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "An illegal structure within the institution, or a clique or individuals cooperating in an unlawful cycle, is protected, while civil servants committing criminal acts are shielded. In contrast, false statements and slanders by these individuals are immediately trusted, leading to unlawful and extrajudicial investigations."

The list goes on…

I WILL EXPOSE

When I contacted Mehmet Fidan, he confirmed the email and its contents. He said he sent many emails to Hakan Fidan, an intelligence-rooted Foreign Minister, hoping he would cleanse the Ministry first. The former diplomat, aiming to reach a rule of law, declared, "I will expose the illegalities that have been happening within the Foreign Ministry for years, one by one." Fidan explained his plight as, "We uncovered the human trafficking organized by the Malatya Yeşilyurt Municipality officials."

It’s true that intelligence and diplomacy are related. But first, institutions must cleanse themselves. I don’t know how accurate Mehmet Fidan’s claims are. But the words of a diplomat who disclosed the details of a human trafficking scandal involving state passports deserve at least to be heard.

People perish along with institutions. As long as the accumulated knowledge rooted in history holds on to the soil, the color of humanity will never fade.