Six suspects released in Gülen-linked business network case

ISTANBUL

An Istanbul court on March 30 released six suspects in an investigation targeting the financial structure of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The trial includes members of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), shut down for its alleged financial support of FETÖ, widely believed to have orchestrated the failed coup of July 15, 2016.

The Istanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court released the suspects—including Ahmet Şener Gülenç, İlhan Karagöz, Levent Dursunakın, Oğuz Kaan Gündüz, Salih Zeki Azak and Selahattin Altuntaş—and also ordered a travel ban for them.

Among those in custody are Ömer Faruk Kavurmacı, the son-in-law of former Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, Faruk Güllü, co-owner of the well-known Faruk Gullüoğlu baklava chain, Tolga Güven, Şafak Koca, Çetin Tekmedir, Ahmet Tuzlu, Mehmet Zenginer and Mustafa Zenginer.

Kavurmacı, who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2005, was arrested in September 2016 but was later released in May 2017 on the grounds that prison conditions were having a negative effect on his health. Following criticism of his release from a number of opposition politicians and from members of the public, Kavurmacı was rearrested in June 2017.

Detention warrants were issued for Mehmet Ali Göv, Serkan Ercan, Suat Barış, Semih Gayretli, Muhdi Yeyrek, Ceyhun Pilatin and İsmail Kınay, which are also suspects in the trial. The court decided to hold the next hearing of the trial on June 18 in Istanbul’s Silivri prison.