An Istanbul prosecutor's office has drafted an indictment for 54 judges and prosecutors accused of involvement in a plot to illegally wiretap for the benefit of the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ). The indictment released on Friday asks for multiple life imprisonments for suspects who were in office at the time of the wiretappings of hundreds of people in a concocted terror probe against the Selam Tevhid organization. The Selam Tevhid case, investigated for years, was revealed to be a disguise to illegally wiretap people falsely designated as terror suspects by FETÖ-linked police and prosecutors.

A 3,149-page indictment accuses suspects of political and military espionage, running a terror organization or membership in that organization, attempting to oust the government, revealing confidential information, invasion of privacy, fabricating crimes, illegal acquisition of evidence, hiding evidence and modifying evidence, forgery of official documents and abuse of duty.

If the court accepts the indictment, suspects will be tried by the Supreme Court of Appeals, the highest legal authority and only legal body where judges and prosecutors can be tried.

Among the accused are Cihan Kansız, Mehmet Berk, Celal Kara and Muammer Akkaş. Kansız reportedly fled to Europe following the launch of the investigation. He was a prosecutor in the infamous Ergenekon case where FETÖ-linked judiciary members are accused of imprisoning generals, journalists and others via false evidence. Similarly, Mehmet Berk also served as a prosecutor in a notorious match-fixing case against Fenerbahçe. Both trials saw the release of all the defendants after an appeals court found their rights to a fair trial were violated, pointing to fabricated evidence.

Metin Özçelik and Mustafa Başer, who were arrested after they overstepped their authority by signing the release documents for several Gülenist suspects, are also among the suspects in the indictment. Four judges and prosecutors still in office also face charges.

A board of judges and prosecutors have already ordered the dismissal of 49 judges and prosecutors indicted, while an Istanbul court banned all suspects from travelling abroad following an investigation into the plot that started last year.

Süleyman Karaçöl, a former judge named in the indictment, was arrested in September 2015 for membership in FETÖ.

Celal Kara and Muammer Akkaş still remain at large, as they fled abroad following the start of the investigation. They are believed to be in Europe, along with Zekeriya Öz, a prosecutor who faced arrest for his involvement with FETÖ.

A trial is already underway for former police chiefs involved in illegal wiretapping.

The Selam Tevhid plot blamed on Gülenist infiltrators in the police and judiciary targeted everyone from National Intelligence Organization (MİT) director Hakan Fidan to journalists, including Daily Sabah employees.

The Gülen Movement, which boasts a large international following through its wide network of schools, companies and nonprofit organizations around the world, evolved from a simple religious community to a politicized cult. The group is now the target of multiple investigations into its activities in Turkey after two coup attempts in 2013 by FETÖ, which originated from the Gülen Movement.

Gülen resides in Pennsylvania and has no intention of returning to Turkey for his trials, as his lawyers have indicated. Authorities are working on an extradition process with the United States, as the first trial for Gülen started last year. If extradited, the 74-year-old will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, as the coup attempt charges he faces carry multiple life sentences.

Over the past two weeks, authorities have stepped up the crackdown on Gülenists by detaining and arresting prominent figures linked to the group, including executives of a large business conglomerate accused of financing the terrorist organization. In an operation in the western city of Isparta last week, police detained the former head of a university and a group of Gülenist suspects accused of preparing blackmail videos targeting politicians.

Hundreds of people have been detained or arrested since 2014 when a massive purge of the police, judiciary and bureaucracy was launched to weed out Gülenists who had infiltrated those systems.