Turkish prosecutor files lawsuit against five prison staff over ‘hero’ t-shirt on coup suspect

MUĞLA – Doğan News Agency

A public prosecutor’s office on Aug. 11 filed a criminal case against five prison personnel on charges of “neglect of duty” after a jailed suspect in a case into the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) previously appeared in court wearing a t-shirt bearing a logo reading “hero.” 

Gökhan Güçlü, a suspect in the case into the assassination of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, appeared in a court hearing in the Aegean province of Muğla wearing the t-shirt on July 13.

An investigation was immediately launched after the incident and five personnel from the Muğla E-Type Prison - the prison’s second director, an inspector administrative affairs officer, and three guardians - were suspended from duty by the Justice Ministry on Aug. 10.  

Muğla Chief Public Prosecutor İlyas Yavuz stated that although there was not a “wrongful intention” on behalf of the sued personnel, “they did not show the necessary care and attention in relation to the authorities that the law gives them.”

Another lawsuit has been opened into Gökhan Güçlü’s sister, who sent the “hero” t-shirt to the prison along with a letter, on accusations of “making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization.”

“A commission of three people analyzed the letter, in which it says: ‘You are our hero. We are sending you a t-shirt saying hero on it.’ This is a scandal on our behalf ... The t-shirt should have been carefully looked at. Upon seeing this writing, they should have gone to their supervising administrative officer to say they have received such a letter. If only the t-shirt had come, but not the letter, the incident would not have grown so much,” Yavuz stated. 

The prosecutor also gave information regarding the gendarmerie soldiers assigned to transfer Güçlü from jail to court on the day of the incident. 

“There is a law called Law No. 4483 in relation to gendarmerie officials. Based on this law, we have asked for permission from the governor’s office to launch an investigation [into the gendarmerie soldiers]. A search will be conducted to determine whether there was any bad intention. Any connection of these [soldiers] with FETÖ could not yet be determined, and in any case if there were such links we would have taken direct action. As [bad intention] could not be found, we have asked for permission from the governor’s office,” Yavuz said.