Istanbul court releases journalist Aksoy, singer Taş, teacher Aydın in Gülen-linked probe

ISTANBUL

Singer Atilla Taş, journalist Murat Aksoy and teacher Davut Aydın, who were jailed pending trial over suspected links to the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization’s (FETÖ) media network, were released from prison on Oct. 24 after spending over half a year behind bars.

The 25th Istanbul Criminal Court dropped charges against Taş, Aksoy and Aydın at a hearing.

All three had been arrested in April this year.

Twenty-six suspects remain in jail as part of a probe into the media network of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, believed to have been behind the July 2016 coup attempt.

The suspects are accused of “being a member of a terror group” and of “participating in a coup attempt.”

Their hearing has been postponed to Dec. 4.

Meanwhile, three judges who were investigated for previously releasing a number of suspects in the FETÖ media network probe have been acquitted by an Istanbul court, daily Habertürk reported on Oct. 25.

Chief judge İbrahim Lorasdağı and judges Barış Cömert and Necla Yeşilyurt Gülbiçim ruled in April to release 21 suspects including Atilla Taş, Gökçe Fırat Çulhaoğlu, Hanım Büşra Erdal, and Murat Aksoy.

After the decision the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office appealed against the judges’ ruling and the Istanbul 26th Heavy Penal Court issued another arrest warrant for eight suspects. The Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) then also ruled for an investigation to be initiated against the judges who ruled for the suspects’ release, after which Lorasdağı, Cömert and Gülbiçim Tedbiren were temporarily suspended from duty.

The committee of inspection has now completed its investigation into the judges, saying it did not obtain “any evidence that the three judges were connected to FETÖ.”