Prosecutor rejects unlawful court decision to release Gülenist suspects


An Istanbul public prosecutor, Orhan Güldiker on Sunday rejected the demand of the Gülenist suspects' lawyers to put the decision of releasing Gülen Movement-affiliated Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca and 75 others, into process, after the Istanbul's 10th Penal Court of Peace's also ruled for implementetion of a unauthorized court ruling of the suspects' release.Earlier on Sunday, the judge of the Istanbul 29th Penal Court of First Instance, Metin Özçelik, accepted the demands of the suspects' lawyers for pre-trial release and sent the petitions to another judge, Mustafa Başer. A judge in the Istanbul 32nd Criminal Court of First Instance, Başer, attempted to release the suspects. Istanbul 10th Criminal Court of Peace decided that the ruling handed down by the 32th Criminal Court of First Instance to release the suspects was invalid and ruled for the continued detention of Gülen Movement-affiliated Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca and 75 others.The suspects, who are accused of being Gülenist operatives, are currently facing charges of various offenses ranging from carrying out illegal wiretapping activities to spying.The suspects will remain jailed pending trial, but the unauthorized decision of the court raised some eyebrows as to whether members of the Gülen Movement, which is accused of infiltrating key state institutions, are still existent in the judiciary. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu branded the attempt as a coup in the judiciary and claimed on Sunday that the judges acted up an order: "They attempted a coup in the judiciary [on Saturday]. They received an order a week ago from Pennsylvania [where Fethullah Gülen lives in exile]. We have records; an order demanding their release from prison." The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) launched an investigation into the judges who exceeded their authority and ruled the release of the suspects and is scheduled to hold a meeting to assess the incident on Monday. The unlawful decision also stirred harsh reactions from the public, which believes the judicial members associated with the Gülen Movement should urgently be removed from their positions.Karaca and police officers were detained on December 14 as part of an investigation, referred to as the Tahşiye case, into alleged illegal activities by the Gülen Movement, led by the U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gülen. Other police officers allegedly linked with the movement were detained in operations into illegal wiretapping activities. Some are accused of forming a criminal organization to commit crimes.Members of the movement, so-called Gülenists, are suspected of perpetrating criminal activities through their operatives within the state, especially the judiciary, police and the media. The December 14 operation was the result of complaints filed against the Gülen Movement by several individuals from the Tahşiye group, which was allegedly victimized by the movement.