Court delivers full decision on 2012 FETÖ plot

ANKARA

A Turkish court delivered the reasoned decision on Jue 17 on the case of the 2012 plot of the FETÖ, known as the group's first overt attempt to overthrow the government.

The Istanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court's decision of over 1,000 pages, which was forwarded to the defendants and their lawyers, detailed the successful operations of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) against the PKK terrorist group in the decade prior to Feb. 7, 2012, when FETÖ-affiliated police chiefs and prosecutors wanted to take over MIT by launching a sham investigation against it.

FETÖ attempted to discredit MIT, which was viewed by the terror group as a bastion to be captured, through the Feb. 7 plot, the decision said.

Hakan Fidan, the director of MIT, and Afet Güneş and Emre Taner, two senior administrators of the agency at the time, were peculiarly targeted by the terror group because of their keen efforts against FETÖ’s attempts to infiltrate the agency, the decision highlighted.

Through the plot, FETÖ intended to portray the Turkish government’s well-intentioned efforts to find a solution to the terror problem, with which the country has fought for decades, and problems of Turkish citizens with Kurdish origins as an act of betrayal, according to the decision.

The decision also revealed that the FETÖ and PKK terror groups have cooperated against the government.

The ultimate aim of the plot, which was personally approved and supervised by the FETÖ terror group’s leader, Fetullah Gülen, was overthrowing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who acted vigilantly and undermined the plot, the decision added.

Having its attempts foiled first on Feb. 7, 2012 and later on Dec.17-25, 2013, FETÖ carried out the July 15 coup attempt in 2016 but failed as a result of the Turkish nation’s determination.

FETÖ and its US-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.