Former Antalya deputy governor among 13 suspects convicted over FETÖ links

ANKARA

Thirteen people, including a former deputy governor of the southern Antalya province, were convicted of being members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and given various jail terms across Turkey on April 6. 

In seven different cases in the capital Ankara in connection with a case into questions leaked ahead of the 2010 public personnel selection exam, four convicts were given six years and three months in prison for “being FETÖ members,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Two convicts received three years and one month in prison. They were also asked to pay a fine for committing fraud against state institutions.

In a case in Antalya, former Antalya Deputy Governor Bilal Çelik was handed down seven years and six months jail term for “being a member of an armed terrorist organization.”

Separately, in the Black Sea province of Rize, five suspects were given prison sentence of three years and five months for “being members of an armed terrorist organization and helping the organization.”

In the eastern province of Erzurum, a convict who was tried on the charge of being an administrator of FETÖ’s prison and judiciary structure received a term of 15 years in jail for “establishing or managing an armed terrorist organization.”

Furthermore, a convict was given seven years and six months in prison for being “a member of an armed terrorist organization.”

Also, a convict who was tried in the western Kırklareli province of being part of FETÖ’s “tradesmen structure” was sentenced to six years and three months in jail for “being a member of an armed terrorist organization,” the agency’s report read.

Arrest warrants for lawyers, former TRT staff 

Turkish prosecutors on April 6 issued arrest warrants for 58 people for their alleged links to FETÖ, Anadolu Agency reported, citing security sources.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutors’ Office issued arrest warrants for 38 people as part of a probe into the network and its suspected infiltration of the judiciary, according to a security source.

Police launched a nationwide operation in order to apprehend the suspects, including 13 lawyers, who are accused of being linked to the structure, the source said on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Meanwhile, the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office issued arrest warrants for 20 former employees of state-run broadcaster TRT on the same charges.

The suspects are sought across five provinces of Ankara, Adana, Adıyaman, Hatay and Istanbul, according to the same security sources.

The Gülen network, led by U.S.-based Fethullah Gülen, is widely believed to have been behind Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt.