Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Gürsel Tekin, and former CHP deputy Melda Onur, were named as victims in an indictment that seeks a life sentence for U.S.-based fugitive imam Fettullah Gülen and 67 others, for an alleged attempt to overthrow the democratically-elected government, after it was found out that their phones were illegally tapped.Last week Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor İsmail Uçar presented the indictment, which asks for an aggravated life sentence for Gülen, charging him and 67 others with plotting a coup against the democratically-elected government. According to the indictment, Gülen, the leader of the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), which was designated a national threat by the National Security Council (MGK) and is accused of playing a key role in the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations, currently has two outstanding arrest warrants.
On Dec. 25, 2013, under the guise of an anti-graft operation, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of 30 people including businesspeople and Bilal Erdoğan, the son of then prime minister and current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and is seen as an alleged attempt to overthrow the government by linking the accused to government members. The indictment further says that members of the CHP –Tekin and Onur – were also allegedly victimized by Gülenists, their phones having been illegally tapped.
The indictment states that 29 people, including Tekin and Onur, were unlawfully investigated and eavesdropped on even though they have parliamentary immunity.
