Court accepts case of FETÖ plot against Fenerbahçe


An Istanbul court on Friday accepted an indictment concerning a plot by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) that is accused of imprisoning Fenerbahçe Football Club President Aziz Yıldırım and other club executives via forged evidence.Fetullah Gülen, the leader of FETÖ, and 107 others with links to the group, face charges of plotting against Yıldırım in a case regarding match fixing. Yıldırım served one year in prison after he was sentenced to six years in 2012 on charges of match fixing and running a criminal organization. The 64-year-old Fenerbahçe boss, who has presided over the club since 1998, was acquitted after new prosecutors that replaced Gülen-linked prosecutors found that the charges against him were based on insufficient evidence. Yıldırım maintained his innocence throughout the trial, claiming that the evidence, including wiretapped conversations allegedly revealing match-fixing deals, were fabricated.The chief prosecutor's office drafted an indictment against U.S.-based Gülen, his right-hand men Ekrem Dumanlı, Hidayet Karaca and Şerif Ali Tekalan and former police chiefs. The indictment accuses Gülen and others of running a criminal organization, violation of privacy, illegal wiretapping, forgery and defamation."FETÖ fiddled with me back in 1998 when I was elected president. A few months later some men from FETÖ's media organizations visited me and asked for my help in cases against Fetullah Gülen. I said I did not know Gülen and would not be of help for him. That's why they wanted to arrest me and capture Fenerbahçe," said Yıldırım, who is also a prominent businessman, in a televised interview to NTV in August.