Gülenist figure Mehmet Baransu arrested over plotting against coup suspects

Gülen Movement-affiliated media figure Mehmet Baransu, who was sent to court with a demand for his arrest for plotting against some suspects of the Sledgehammer coup trial (Balyoz) on Sunday, was arrested by an Istanbul court on Monday, pending trial.

An investigation was launched into the allegations that the suspects of the Sledgehammer trial were subjected to a plot that led to their incarceration. The allegations claim evidence that was given in court while the suspects were standing trial for allegedly planning a coup, were allegedly fabricated. Baransu is facing charges that he was engaged in plotting against some suspects by trumping up evidence.

Baransu was detained on Sunday and referred to court with a demand for his arrest on charges of "forming an organization to commit a crime, obtaining, serving and eliminating confidential state documents"

Istanbul's counterterrorism department teams searched Baransu's home in the Kağıthane district for compact disks and documents about the case. The search took 12 hours and the police seized some documents.

Sledgehammer is an alleged military coup plot by a junta in the Turkish Armed Forces that reportedly dates back to 2003, a year after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power.

According to the alleged plan, the military was to systematically foment chaos in society through chilling acts of violence including bombing mosques in Istanbul and downing a Turkish war plane over the Aegean Sea.

In September 2012, the court sentenced 324 of the 365 defendants to prison for conspiring to topple the government, although an appeals court partially overturned the decision and released 88 of the defendants in October 2013 due to a lack of evidence.