All acquitted in espionage case reportedly plotted by Gülenists
An Istanbul court on Friday acquitted 14 defendants in a military espionage case allegedly plotted by the Gülen Movement. The 5th Heavy Criminal Court cleared the defendants, mostly military officers, of obtaining confidential information regarding the Army, while the chief judge said the case was more "digital terrorism than espionage" to the applause of defendants who were released earlier after the higher authority Constitutional Court ruled their rights had been violated.
The defendants were arrested in 2011 upon the orders of prosecutors and police chiefs linked to the Gülen Movement whose members stand accused of attempts to overthrow the government. Defendants long claimed they were victims of a plot to imprison them based on forged evidence. An investigation has found that the evidence leading to their arrests might have been planted on CDs and digital documents found in searches by police.
Last year, 44 people were detained in connection with the case, including police officers accused of tampering with evidence and planting evidence. An investigation of their role in the plot, viewed as an attempt to undermine the credibility of military officers, is still underway.
The Gülen Movement, which long wielded clout in the police and judiciary through infiltrators, now faces terror charges for two attempts to overthrow the government in 2013. Led by U.S.-based retired cleric Fethullah Gülen, the movement had reportedly tried to purge members of the military opposed to it.
Speaking at Friday's hearing, former Lieutenant Colonel Tamer Karslıoğlu, who was among the defendants, said he was fired from the Turkish Armed Forces because of the trial and said he would file a complaint against the "parallel structure" members within the Army who plotted against him, referring to the criminal organization the Gülen Movement supposedly runs in Turkey, according to multiple investigations.
The movement has been subjected to a barrage of trials on charges ranging from running a terrorist organization to the illegal wiretapping of thousands for criminal purposes.
The defendants were arrested in 2011 upon the orders of prosecutors and police chiefs linked to the Gülen Movement whose members stand accused of attempts to overthrow the government. Defendants long claimed they were victims of a plot to imprison them based on forged evidence. An investigation has found that the evidence leading to their arrests might have been planted on CDs and digital documents found in searches by police.
Last year, 44 people were detained in connection with the case, including police officers accused of tampering with evidence and planting evidence. An investigation of their role in the plot, viewed as an attempt to undermine the credibility of military officers, is still underway.
The Gülen Movement, which long wielded clout in the police and judiciary through infiltrators, now faces terror charges for two attempts to overthrow the government in 2013. Led by U.S.-based retired cleric Fethullah Gülen, the movement had reportedly tried to purge members of the military opposed to it.
Speaking at Friday's hearing, former Lieutenant Colonel Tamer Karslıoğlu, who was among the defendants, said he was fired from the Turkish Armed Forces because of the trial and said he would file a complaint against the "parallel structure" members within the Army who plotted against him, referring to the criminal organization the Gülen Movement supposedly runs in Turkey, according to multiple investigations.
The movement has been subjected to a barrage of trials on charges ranging from running a terrorist organization to the illegal wiretapping of thousands for criminal purposes.
Last Update: January 29, 2016 21:41