Former editor of Turkish news magazine arrested trying to flee to Greece

EDİRNE – Anadolu Agency

The editor-in-chief of a now shut-down weekly magazine, who was sentenced to over 22 years in jail on May 22 for “inciting an armed uprising against the Turkish government,” was arrested on May 24 in the northwestern province of Edirne while attempting to flee to neighboring Greece, a security source has said.

Murat Çapan, the editor-in-chief of Nokta magazine that was shut down in the aftermath of last year’s coup attempt over links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), accused by Ankara of orchestrating the foiled coup, was handed down an imprisonment of 22 years and six months by Istanbul’s 14th High Criminal Court.

The same court also convicted the magazine’s executive, Cevheri Güven, of the same charge, giving him the same sentence.

Border guards arrested Çapan along with four FETÖ suspects including a retired police chief, a former university lecturer and two expelled teachers, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.      

Separately, detention warrants were issued for 19 Türk Telekom employees as part of a fresh probe into FETÖ, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on May 25.

The suspects, ten of whom have already been detained, were indicated to have deposited large amounts of money in Bank Asya on the orders of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen.

The bank was previously seized by the state over its links to FETÖ.

The names of the suspects were reportedly revealed by statements of secret witnesses.

Following the June 15, 2016, coup attempt Turkey introduced a state of emergency that has seen tens of thousands of public servants dismissed or suspended from their jobs over suspected ties to FETÖ.