Turkey jails three for life in wake of FETÖ match-fixing scandal

ISTANBUL

A Turkish court handed down lengthy sentences in a "football match-fixing case" involving a plot by the FETÖ from 2011.

The 23rd Istanbul Heavy Penal Court issued its final verdict to former chairman of Samanyolu TV (STV) Hidayet Karaca, who received a sentence of 1,406 years for "breaching the privacy of communications," "forgery of official documents" and "slander."

Former police officer Lokman Yanık, on trial for allegedly initiating the investigation process of FETÖ’s "football match-fixing case," received 161 years and eight months for "helping an armed terrorist organization," "slander" and "forgery of official documents."

The former chief of Istanbul Organized Crime Control Bureau Nazmi Ardıç was sentenced to 1,972 years and 10 months for "breaching the privacy of communications" and similar charges.

Some of the 88 defendants were acquitted.

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara also 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.