Austria expelled a man who was accused of spying for Turkey and who claimed that he had been ordered to kill Austrian politicians.

Feyyaz Ozturk, an Italian citizen of Turkish origin, surrendered to the Austrian intelligence services last year, claiming that the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey had blackmailed him to assassinate former Kurdish-born Austrian MP Berivan Aslan and two other politicians. They have all been longtime critics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his attitude towards the Kurds.

The Austrian authorities concluded that Ozturk posed a threat to public safety and decided to deport him, Agence France Presse reported referring to his lawyer.

Berivan Aslan is still under police protection. According to Ozturk, the politician was supposed to be killed in March, but the operation never took place because he broke his leg in an accident in Italy.