Zaman grant holder seeks remorse law in Gülen case

ANKARA

The grant holder of shuttered daily Zaman, which was closed down by the Turkish state in May 2016 over its links to the movement of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, has said he wants to benefit from the effective remorse law, in the main case into the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ). 

Alaattin Kaya, daily Zaman’s grant holder, said those who were in the management of the daily after 1998 should be held accountable for “crimes related to the organization” in his defense at the Ankara Fourth Heavy Penal Court. 

Denying allegations that he was FETÖ’s “imam responsible for the press,” Kaya noted that he downloaded but never used the smartphone application ByLock, which came to prominence after it emerged that it was used by Gülenists. 

“Imam,” which traditionally refers to a religious public worker, is a term used by the Gülenist organization to denote local or institutional leadership.

Kaya said he used Kakao smartphone app, which is also among the communication tools of Gülenists, adding that he gave the prosecutor a letter similar to a confession.