CHP leader warns about ‘presumption of innocence’ in FETÖ prosecutions

In his message released to mark Eid al-Adha, Kılıçdaroğlu said all those who were part of the coup attempt should be tried in line with the rule of law and must under no circumstances be tortured. 

CHP leader warned against “unjust suffering” in the sweeping purges of state bureaucrats in the probe into the “Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), believed to be behind the failed coup attempt of July 15.

Kılıçdaroğlu noted that Turkey was marking the Eid al-Adha in an atmosphere of uncertainty, “in an environment where the smell of blood and gunpowder is rooted in the Islamic world.” 

“I believe that our republic, which has been a hope for the Islamic world and all oppressed countries, will be able to overcome its problems through the strength of the democratic, secular, state of law established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,” he said. 

Eid al-Adha is “more sorrowful” this year due to the deadly coup attempt and the cross-border fight against terror, Kılıçdaroğlu also added.

The CHP leader said Turkey could solve its troubles by “strengthening its parliamentary democracy, fulfilling the necessities of contemporary education, embracing contemporary public employment policies, achieving public peace, and maintaining judicial impartiality within the rule of law.