Doğan Holding’s Ankara representative acquitted of all charges

ANKARA

A court in Istanbul has acquitted Barbaros Muratoğlu, Doğan Holding’s Ankara representative, of all charges and ruled that he can file a claim for compensation for being unjustly deprived of his freedom after he was jailed for 196 days. 

Upon Muratoğlu’s appeal, Istanbul’s 2nd Appeal Court reversed the verdict issued by a lower court on Nov. 13, on the grounds that the indictment did not cite an offence committed on behalf of a terror organization.

The Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court had initially sentenced Muratoğlu to five years in prison on charges of aiding the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), before reducing it to one year and eight months.

Muratoğlu was released from Istanbul’s Silivri Prison late on June 15, 196 days after he was arrested.

Muratoğlu was charged with helping FETÖ after he signed a contract with an Ankara-based law firm, which employed workers who were later identified as sympathizers of the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused of being behind Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt.

Some of Muratoğlu’s contacts were also found to be users of ByLock, a communication application widely used by Gülenists. In addition, his visit to Gülen in-person, as part of a group of journalists in 2012, was also included in the indictment as evidence of his connection with the group.